Don't Leave Me
by Winifred Markby
Summary: When we lose one we love, our bitterest tears are called forth by the memory of hours when we loved not enough. That much was true. I looked up at the sky, and smiled. She was here. She would always be here.
1. Prologue

Prologue

_"Promise me you'll love again. Promise me that you will get married and have a family."_

_"I… I…"_

_"Promise me."_

_"I promise."_

I opened my eyes and listened to the breeze whistle around me. The garden was always so quiet in the minutes before sunset. The tulips, daisies, and marigolds danced in the wind. For a split second, I thought I saw her running through the flowers, her dark hair bouncing around her, laughing, her face lit up with joy. But of course she wasn't there. She hadn't been there for a long, long time.

I had fulfilled my promise to her. I fell for Astoria Greengrass and married her. Our son, Scorpius, was about to start school. My life was comfortable and only filled with the minor irritations that came with fatherhood and business. I had accomplished my promise to her and doing so only gave me more comfort. Even in death, she was always thinking of me. I smiled at that.

I sighed and looked up at the sky. I miss her. I miss her when something good happens, because she's the one I want to share it with. I miss her when something is troubling me, because she's the one who understands me so well. I miss her when I laugh and cry, because I know that she's the one that makes my laughter grow, and my tears disappear. I miss her all the time, but I miss her the most when I lay awake at night and think of all the wonderful times that we spent with each other. For those were some of the best and most memorable times of my life.

* * *

** So this is the prologue of another story. Tell me guys what you think. Should I continue this?**


	2. Chapter 1

*Hey, guys, sorry I deleted the original Chapter 1 but I decided to tackle this story from a different direction. Sorry again and here's the edited and remade version of Chapter 1.*

* * *

Chapter 1

Wiltshire, England. She turned her head and looked up at the massive manor, the sweeping lawns, the peacocks grazing everywhere. She looked at the manor pleasantly as if she was actually mildly excited about what was to happen but in her mind, she was screaming.

"Hurry up, Evanna," her mother hissed, walking on ahead without a second glance to her. "I do not want to be late."

Evanna bit back a sigh and dragged her feet as she walked in the refined gait of a woman of her breeding. Breeding, she scoffed. The word made her seem like a prized show dog instead of a cultured pure blood woman.

They were greeted by a meek little house elf. Aurelia Redway snarled at the house elf. The elf let them in and led them into the library. It bowed low to the ground, touching its nose to the floor before careening back into the house, seeking out its masters to announce the arrival of the day's extremely important guests.

Aurelia snorted and rolled her eyes. She reached her hand up to touch the delicate coiffure of her prim dark brown hair. She turned to see the same shade of dark brown on her daughter. Evanna looked just like Aurelia when she was eighteen except that Evanna looked sweeter and less sharp than Aurelia could ever hope to be. She had gotten it from her father. He was always a soft man. But it was always Evanna's air of sweetness that made her so desirable to men. Now that she was at a prime age to be married, every rich pure blood family with an eligible son wanted their son to marry Evanna. Evanna's late father, Demetrius, had died in the recent war for Lord Voldemort, leaving his wife and daughter alone to fend for themselves. Some pure blood families had tried to take advantage of the mother and daughter but Aurelia was a smart woman. She would only let her only daughter go to the best possible family with the best kind of reputation. Two families had made convincing requests: the Malfoy family and the Zabini family. The odds were with the Zabinis but it all depends on how negotiations go.

Evanna stood silently, looking out the window, staring out at the peacocks on the lawns. She envied them. They were left alone to do as they will, act as they will. She was expected, commanded, ordered to be soft spoken, agreeable, and polite. She was expected to walk like a refined lady. She was commanded to talk like a distinguished lady. She was ordered to stand like a cultured lady. She was suffocating. She'd like nothing better than to fling away the pearls hanging from her neck, toss aside her heels, and run shrieking out the manor. Sometimes Evanna wondered how she manages to keep all her frustration bottled up inside. Sometimes she went perilously close to shouting at her own mother and walk out the door. But then where would she go? Who would she turn to?

"Remember, Evanna, darling," Aurelia said, turning her daughter towards her and fixing up her hair. "This could be your new home, your new family. Do not for any reason do anything that will displease the Malfoys. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, Mother, of course," Evanna answered.

"Aurelia," a stern voice said behind them.

Aurelia and Evanna turned and saw the Malfoy family enter the library. Lucius Malfoy had on an impossibly tight and severe face. He obviously knew he was headed into battle. Narcissa Malfoy was the picture of hospitality as she beamed at them. She was performing her role well. Then came Draco Malfoy.

Evanna watched him as he strolled into the library. His blonde hair tumbled onto his forehead with ease, his cold gray eyes looked bored and unwilling. He had his hands in his pockets, walking with a sure and confident gait, the slight swagger in his step unmistakable. He was the paragon of the perfect male bachelor: handsome, rich, well brought up. The kind of man Evanna hated.

He looked over at her as he took in her entire appearance. She was supposed to look inviting and lovely so she did. She met his eyes and they stared at each other from opposite ends of the room. This is the man she might be spending the rest of her life with? This could not be happening. Surely, there was more to this life. Surely, a different life awaited her somewhere, somehow.

It was rude to stare and so Evanna averted her gaze and watched her mother greet Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.

"You remember my daughter, Evanna," Aurelia said, looking over at Evanna, extending her arm out to her.

Evanna slapped on a smile and walked over next to her mother, her feet barely making any noise as she moved.

"Of course," Lucius said. "How are you, Evanna?"

"Thank you for having us, Mr. Malfoy," Evanna said in the slow melodic way her mother had wanted her to speak and tactfully avoiding the question.

"It's our pleasure," Lucius answered and looked over at his son who had been watching Evanna. "Draco, come and meet Miss Evanna Redway."

Draco walked forward, his eyes on her face the entire time. "It's very nice to meet you," he said emptily.

"The pleasure's mine," Evanna answered with a customary smile.

"Why don't you show Evanna the entertainment room, Draco, while we talk to her lovely mother here?" Lucius said charmingly.

"Of course, Father," Draco said dutifully and extended his arm out to Evanna.

Evanna looked over to her mother as if asking for approval to proceed. Aurelia nodded, exuding pleasure but her eyes were saying only one thing: Do not ruin our chances. Evanna gently hooked her arm through his and allowed Draco to lead them out the room. The door closed behind them and inside, the negotiations began.

Draco led her silently away from the library and deep into the Malfoy Manor. He was tall, she observed, and smelled of pine and something earthier: the subtle musk of male dominance. It was just the thing that made simple girls swoon, pine, and lust. Evanna was not fazed. She had met countless men all her life who had the same quality or pretended to have the same quality. It ceased to be impressing but Draco Malfoy no doubt caught himself quite a handful of women with this concealed charm of his. The lure of the rich and handsome men proved too great for many women and they lose themselves trying to hold one in their fists like a beating heart. It was useless and Evanna hated the idiocy of it.

Draco opened the door and Evanna was greeted by what could be the most pleasant room in the entire manor. The room was circular with a high domed ceiling. It was painted a soft cream color. The floor to ceiling windows let in a hefty amount of sunlight, making the room all the more inviting. A grand piano sat in the middle of the room on a circular raised marble stage. Easels and paint products lined one side of the room. Other instruments such as guitars, flutes, violins, and harps are on another side. A shelf of novels, sketchbooks, and drawing supplies lined the shelves of a large bookcase. Evanna's eyes widened as the sight greeted her. Draco motioned for her to enter. She unhooked herself from him and walked into the room, taking in the sights with wonder. Evanna heard Draco close the door behind them.

"So you're going to be my wife," he said simply, matter-of-factly.

Evanna blinked, the majesty ruined. She slowly turned to him, her face carefully at ease. "If the negotiations go well, then yes," she responded.

"The negotiations will go well," Draco assured her, plunging his hands into his pockets and walking toward her.

"How are you sure?" she asked. "The Zabinis are interested as well."

"The negotiations will go well," Draco said again with determined confidence. "Blaise is a good friend of mine but they don't stand a chance. My parents are adamant about you."

"Why?" Evanna asked, suddenly thrilled by the possibility that she could mean something to someone.

"You'd be a great addition to this family. You meet every requirement and high standards of the Malfoy family," Draco spoke walking past her and dropping into a high back cushioned sofa. "You would be a valuable asset."

"I see," Evanna said and met his eyes stonily. "It's my mother's decision, of course. She is to make sure that I only go to the best family."

Annoyance flickered in Draco's eyes for a moment. "Are you implying that my family isn't the best?" he asked, his voice tight. "Is that meant to insult me?"

"That wasn't my intention and I never implied anything of the kind," Evanna said, sweetly smiling at him. "I merely spoke the facts, that's all."

Draco scoffed. "My father was right about you," he said. "You are every bit polished, refined, and sarcastic as they say you are." Evanna turned away, pretending to admire the paintings on the wall. Such compliments sickened her. "You are also very pretty. Pretty in the quiet, unassuming, and saccharine way."

"I'm not deserving of your compliments," Evanna said, not bothering to turn to him and hating herself for having to act so weak.

Draco scoffed again. Evanna wanted to claw his eyes out. Instead, she had to pretend to be gazing pleasantly at the paintings instead of glaring at them, wishing she could hurl it at his head. Do not ruin this. She wasn't allowed to ruin her chances. The Malfoy family were one of the richest and well known family in wizarding society. She must not wreck her chances. She wanted to scream.

The door opened and Lucius, Narcissa, and Aurelia stepped in. They all had satisfied expressions on their faces and Draco gave Evanna a knowing look. Evanna only glanced in his direction and said nothing.

"Well, how are things in here?" Narcissa asked brightly.

"Just great, Mother," Draco answered before Evannna could. "Evanna and I were just getting to know one another. Isn't that right, Evanna?"

"Yes, you have a lovely home, Mrs. Malfoy," Evanna said, steering the subject away from Draco and her. "It's stunning."

"It'll soon be your home as well, dear," Lucius said, exchanging meaningful looks with his son. "You and Draco are to be married."

"Isn't that fantastic, Evanna, darling?" Aurelia said happily, walking over and giving her daughter an ecstatic embrace.

"It's wonderful," Evanna agreed, putting on a faux smile and broke from the embrace to gaze at the Malfoys. "I'm honored."

Aurelia laughed gloriously and strolled over to give Draco an embrace. Narcissa swept Evanna up into her arms, embracing her as if she was her own daughter. Lucius stood near the door, a satisfied smirk on his face. He had just gotten the most respected, most refined and polished girl to be engaged to his son. Evanna Redway was beautiful, cultured, and knew her place. With her as an addition to the Malfoy family, she will help restore the line to its old splendor, to its old glory. Her reputation will help wipe away the grime of past mistakes. Lucius was sure of it.

Evanna's world was crumbling around her. She knew she was going to be arranged to marry someone but she had never really given up hope that somehow things would change and that somehow she would be happy. Now she was sentenced to spend her entire life playing the part of the perfect pure blood wife. Evanna felt her heart shatter and she felt the harrowing lure of tears consume her. She wanted to cry. She wanted to throw a fit and cry until she was out of tears. But of course, she could not. She was the perfect pure blood woman: beautiful, respectful, refined, and cultured. She also wanted to kill herself.

Draco looked over at her and saw the intense pain in her eyes. He wondered at it. He wondered at it as soon as he saw her in the library. She had been given everything she wanted in life. She came from a rich and well respected family yet she remains unhappy. It didn't make sense, he thought. Draco bit back a sigh and a roll of his eyes. He didn't want some suicidal tart as a wife. Evanna looked over at him and Draco swore he saw a tear roll down her cheek.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Aurelia stood behind her daughter, watching clothes, accessories, jewelry, and women's potions sail into their respective luggage, pleased that she's sold her daughter to slavery. Evanna sat in front of her Victorian vanity table, combing her long dark hair, watching her mother dully in the mirror. Evanna was to move into the Malfoy Manor the very next day. Aurelia was pleased. Evanna was sickened. Of course, Evanna would still be in a separate room. It would be inappropriate for her to sleep in the same bed as Draco just yet. They were not married.

"And Lucius was just so agreeable with all my demands," Aurelia went on as if her daughter was even slightly interested in the circumstances to which she was sold. "He even agreed to provide me with a hefty allowance so I could live comfortably. Thank Merlin.

"And that Draco Malfoy is just so darling and charming. You two will have lovely children," Aurelia said and didn't notice as Evanna flinched. "I could not be happier with the result. Of course, I'd have to give the Zabinis the unhappy news but nevertheless, it's been a good day. The Malfoys were quite taken with you, Evanna, dear. They thought you were elegant and sophisticated. You did well today, my love, you did well."

Silence filled the room suddenly as Aurelia sank down in a plush chair, fanning herself, obviously exhausted from the day's negotiations. She had commanded Evanna to immediately pack her things. Evanna put down her black Victorian style hairbrush. Aurelia noticed her daughter's body stiffen.

"What is it now, Evanna?" Aurelia asked, immediately irritated.

"Must I do this, Mother?" Evanna asked quietly.

Aurelia was immediately on her feet. Her hawk like eyes was instantly on her daughter who remained watching her blankly through the mirror. Evanna had on a look of extreme sadness. Aurelia's motherly instinct twisted for a second but the self preserving prideful pure blood woman pushed it away with both hands. Evanna was pained. The loving mother she remembered when she was eight years old was gone. She was replaced by this cold, selfish, unfeeling woman that Evanna barely knew. It became apparent to Evanna that the woman standing behind her was a stranger to her now.

"What do you mean?" Aurelia snarled. "Of course you must do it. You're expected to do it. You need to do it."

"What if I don't want to do it?"

"What you want is irrelevant, my dear," Aurelia snapped. "We are women and since the dawn of time, we've never been allowed what we truly want. You will marry Draco Malfoy in five months, do we understand each other?"

"I don't love him."

"I didn't set you up to marry him because you love him," Aurelia scoffed. "Merlin knows if either of you will ever love each other."

"Then why must I do this?" Evanna asked, the desperation in her voice finally making itself known.

"Because we have no other choice!" Aurelia raised her voice. "Your father left us with nothing but a nearly empty vault. We've no money left, Evanna, none! Have you forgotten that?"

"No, Mother, I haven't forgotten that. How can I?" Evanna asked tautly. "You remind me every day."

"Then you know how much is at risk," Aurelia answered tartly. "My goodness, how can you be so selfish? I'm trying to preserve the life we're accustomed to! There are all sorts of wizards out there who would kill for this kind of life."

"I want a life that's my own!" Evanna exclaimed. "Not a life that's been arranged for me. I want to make mistakes and embarrass myself and look like an absolute fool. I want to know what it's actually like to live!"

Aurelia slapped her. The sound of skin to skin contact vibrated through the room. Evanna's hand flew to her cheek. Tears rolled out of her eyes as she looked up at her mother's face. Aurelia merely looked a bit stunned at the sudden violence. Cultured ladies weren't supposed to be violent or condone violence in any way. Evanna turned away from her mother, picked up her brush again, and began combing her hair again. The tears did not stop and Evanna had no will to stop them. She wanted her mother to see what it was that she was making her daughter do.

Aurelia took the brush from Evanna's fingers and began to comb her hair for her. Aurelia watched her daughter's tear ridden face. She had been such a happy and free spirited young girl. Now all that has disappeared and discontent and unhappiness took place. Aurelia always knew something like this would happen. She always knew that the way of life a pure blood led would rob her daughter of all happiness. It did the same thing to her. Aurelia was on the brink of suggesting to Demetrius that Evanna should choose her own husband but his death changed things. Aurelia had to make sure that Evanna had to be well cared for. Of course she knew that Evanna's free spirit had to be trapped, contained, and all but suffocated but they weren't left with very many choices.

"He could give you a comfortable life," Aurelia said, the voice of the mother Evanna used to know rising forth. "He could give you more than I could, more than anybody could. I'm only thinking of you, my love. Please realize that."

"I'd rather be in a poor house than live in the loony bin you've sentenced me to," Evanna said, getting up roughly and stalking out the room, the grace of a well brought up girl gone.

* * *

The room was massive to say the very least. It was at least half the size of a magnificent ballroom. The walls were painted with a cream color and the lining at the top and bottom of the walls were colored gold that matched the intricate gold patterns on the ceiling. Upon entering the room, Evanna saw that the luxurious poster bed was on the left side, covered in champagne colored duvets and mountains of pillows. A pristine white Victorian vanity table sat to the left of the bed. The left wall held two white double doors that Evanna found out opened into a broad walk in closet. On the right side of the bed was a white Victorian bedside table with intricate and complicated carvings. The right side of the room was airy and inviting. The far right wall held a set of glass French doors that opened into the balcony that looked over the vast Malfoy gardens. Massive floor to ceilings velvet curtains that was the exact same shade of champagne as the bedspreads hung over the glass French doors but swept to the side. On the same wall that housed the entrance to the room, next to the balcony doors, was a small study table shoved there as if a grudging after thought. On the other wall held a pristine white door that led to a personal lavatory. Slightly adjacent to the balcony doors was a royal red loveseat with a coffee table sitting just in front of it with a large vase of wildflowers perched on top.

It was an impressive room, certainly. It exuded warmth and fortune. It was to be Evanna's prison cell. Aurelia breezed into the room, taking in the high ceilings and the subtle gold tones of the room. She smiled brilliantly, clearly impressed. Evanna walked quietly away from her mother and toward the balcony. She wanted to feel the wind on her face to make sure she was still alive and not dead only walking around out of habit.

"This room is marvelous, isn't it, Evanna, dear?" Aurelia asked her daughter.

"Quite marvelous, Mother," Evanna said emptily, stepping onto the balcony, gladly welcoming the cool breeze that whipped her hair about. The sudden wildness of her hair pleased her and she sighed comfortably.

"Lucius, Narcissa, it's amazing," Aurelia tittered to the Malfoys who had apparently come in after them. "Evanna is just thrilled, aren't you, my love?"

"Absolutely thrilled, Mother," Evanna agreed through clenched teeth.

Evanna wished them all to go away or at least be quiet so she could at least pretend they weren't there. The Malfoy gardens were beyond stunning. The lawns seemed to go on for ages and the beds of flowers and wildflowers enticed Evanna. It was as if she was staring into a meadow of a forest, unseen by anyone else. It pleased her internally to think that she could feel so lost in one place without being bothered by other people. Evanna started to feel calm when a voice behind her made her stomach tighten.

"It's fantastic, isn't it?"

Evanna turned to see Draco walk toward her and stand beside her on the balcony, a healthy distance away from her. "It's magnificent," Evanna agreed. "I've never seen anything so exquisite."

"It takes hours of care," Draco informed her. "We hire Squibs to work on it every day from dawn to near sunset."

"Near sunset?" Evanna asked.

"We generally like the gardens to be empty before the sun starts to set," Draco said, giving her a look. "My mother's idea. She's a bit of a romantic."

"I suppose all women are in one way or another," Evanna commented softly.

"Are you?"

Evanna blushed lightly as she was expected to. "At times," she responded.

Draco smirked and looked back out to the gardens, letting the breeze hit him in the face and weave through his hair. "I was right, wasn't I?" he asked knowingly.

"What about?"

"The negotiations," Draco answered, turning his head toward her. "I told you that my parents were adamant about you."

"Pardon me for saying but there are plenty of pure blood girls who would have been easier to bargain for," Evanna said, not appreciating the topic of her being bought off.

"Yes, but they have all tainted their reputation somehow in one way or another," Draco said and then lowered his voice and spoke seductively. "You're fresh, unspoiled, and untainted. It's quite stimulating."

"I beg your pardon," Evanna said uncomfortably, blushing a deep shade of red.

Draco chuckled at her. "I'm sorry," he said though his tone conveyed that he didn't mean it. "That was a tad inappropriate, wasn't it?"

"I'd appreciate it if we talked about something else," Evanna said properly. Draco only seemed to be more amused.

"My parents want us to attend a dinner party with them tonight," Draco informed her and Evanna bit back the urge to frown or sigh. "However, I asked them to leave us out of their plans just for tonight."

Evanna turned to him, surprised. "You did?" she asked, unable to keep the surprise from her eyes.

"I didn't want to parade you around in public just yet," Draco spoke evenly, slightly amused by her shock. "I wanted a night to have you to myself."

Evanna looked away, suddenly nervous, feeling that she suddenly would very much like to go to the dinner party and be paraded around like a prized mare. If Draco was planning what she thought he was planning, Evanna would much rather be screaming on the inside all night. If he demanded her to comply with his carnal wishes, she couldn't very well say no. He was her fiancé. She could not say no to him.

"I'm sure whatever's running through your head isn't what I had in mind at all," Draco sneered knowingly, making Evanna turn to him with an embarrassed face. "I merely wanted to talk, get to know each other. It would certainly be mortifying if we go out in public and I don't even know your birthday, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, certainly," Evanna agreed quickly. "I'm sorry."

Draco chuckled at her. "Not to worry. There's plenty of time for that after we're married," he said and watched Evanna's cheeks redden once again. "We'll take a stroll through the garden near sunset. I think you'd appreciate it."

Evanna looked up at him. He still had a smirk on his face, his eyes lit up by mischief. He was flirting with her in the subtle refined way that upper-class people were supposed to flirt: with words and innuendos. It was latent and hard to spot but Evanna knew. She seen it directed at her too many times. Draco seemed to be adept in it. She was sure he was adept in the physical type of flirting as well. She should have been charmed but as she watched him walk back into the room, she was just consumed with the need to escape.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Isn't that just wicked?" Draco asked, admiring the beautiful sunset.

They were standing in the middle of the wildflowers in the Malfoy garden, admiring the sunset in front of them. The horizon was cast in burnt orange, casting a very serene glow in the entire place. Evanna stood with hands folded in front of her. Draco stood with his hands in his pockets, a healthy distance between them.

"It is pretty," Evanna said silently.

She loved sunsets and sunrises. They provided a promise to her like no other: a promise of a new day, a new beginning, a chance for things to be better.

Draco took his hands out of his pockets and bent to sit down among the flowers. He looked expectantly at her. Evanna was unsure of what to do. Respectable ladies did not sit down. Grass would get on her clothes and that sort of thing was very much looked down on. But if Draco, her fiancé, asked her to sit down, she would have no choice but to obey.

"Well, sit down," he said. "The grass won't bite."

Evanna eased down and sat down properly, gathering her legs to her sides. Draco watched her, amused at her obvious attempt to be so proper. Evanna looked over at him and caught his eye. She looked dutifully away. Draco only chuckled.

"You can relax, you know," he said, leaning down on his elbows. "Nobody's watching you."

"I have to disagree," Evanna said, making Draco raise his eyebrows at her. "You're here."

"You actually think that I'm going to tell someone that you're not being ladylike and proper?"

"I don't know you," Evanna said with a slight edge to her voice. "You could very much do that if you choose."

"Why would I do a thing like that?" Draco asked and gave her a knowing look. "Unless, that's what you really want me to do."

Evanna looked away and turned her eyes to the sunset. "You presume too much."

"I think I presume just enough," Draco said cleverly. "It's obvious that you don't want to marry me."

"That's not true. I-ˮ

"Are you seriously saying that you want to marry a complete stranger?"

Evanna looked down and away. Draco scoffed.

"That's what I thought," he said. "To tell you the truth, I would rather not marry someone as uptight and apathetic as you."

Evanna looked over at him quickly, a certain ferocity in her eyes that she refused to put words to. Draco saw it and wished for her to voice her opinions, knowing she never would.

"I don't have a choice. You don't either," she said quietly and simply. "We only do what we're told."

"We always have a choice," Draco said, looking away finally. "That's what I've learned and those choices affect other people. So if you choose to run away and leave me here all alone, both of us will be severely punished."

"Both?"

"I'm supposed to keep you under control," he laughed, "supposed to be dominant. So I'd rather have us at least get along so the rest of our lives won't be so tragic."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Telling me all this," Evanna said. "Why should you care what I feel, what I think? If you really wanted to be dominant, you wouldn't care. It's easier not to feel when you have no attachment. If we keep sharing stuff like this, we'll develop a bond. You shouldn't care what I think."

Draco chuckled and moved over to sit near to her. Evanna watched him suspiciously. Draco turned over her hand and laced their fingers together. Evanna watched with curiosity and alarm.

"What's wrong with retaining a shred of humanity?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow. "And if you didn't know before, Evanna, a husband and wife share an undeniable bond anyway."

"It's inappropriate for you to be so forward," Evanna insisted, trying to disentangle her hand from his.

Draco held on, his gaze not flinching. "Do you think I care what's appropriate or what's not out here?" he asked her. "Nobody's watching. I can be myself if I choose to. I'd recommend that you do the same. Locking yourself in a box all the time isn't healthy. It can also be lonely." He met her gaze evenly. "If you want me to let go, I will."

He dropped her hand and stood up. Evanna stared at her hand and the spot where he was standing, slightly stunned.

"Let's go. You like to pretend to be such a good girl all the time, we might as well let you get back to it," Draco said, extending a hand to help her up. "It's time for dinner and my parents are about to leave. You might not believe it, but I didn't want this time to upset you. I merely want to get to know what's behind all that etiquette and manners."

"I don't know how you expect me to reveal the intimate workings of myself to a stranger," Evanna answered, taking his hand and carefully raising herself to her feet.

"A stranger who's going to be your husband."

* * *

"What is the meaning of this, young lady?" Narcissa harped.

Draco and Evanna had just entered the foyer leading to the dining room where they would be having dinner alone. Draco's parents had come to bid farewell when Narcissa saw bits of grass stuck to Evanna's skirt. Narcissa was livid. She wanted a nice girl to marry her son not some uncivilized money hungry Neanderthall. She might as well have let Draco marry Pansy Parkinson.

Lucius had taken Draco aside to have a word with him, leaving Evanna in Narcissa's mercy.

"I expected better from you, young lady," Narcissa continued to rail. "You were raised to be better that this."

Lucius and Draco came back to find to see Narcissa nagging acrimoniously at Evanna who only had her head down as was expected of her. Lucius watched curiously. Draco furrowed his brow.

"What's going on, Narcissa?" Lucius asked.

"Miss Redway has got grass on her skirt, Lucius," Narcissa said spitefully. "I expected much better of her. Much better."

"Evanna?" Lucius regarded her with a hint of condescension.

Evanna said nothing. She didn't defend herself. It would get her nowhere. She was a woman. Even if she tried to defend herself, it would be useless. Perhaps the Malfoys would void the marriage and she would get her freedom back. But her mother would go ballistic. They needed this, she would say. The money's all gone, she would say. She would bitch about it for the rest of Evanna's life.

"It's not Evanna's fault," Evanna heard Draco say beside her and her eyes quickly snapped to him.

"I beg your pardon," Narcissa said to Draco with critical eyes.

"We were watching the sunset," Draco spoke clearly, "and I asked her to sit among the flowers with me. She was merely complying with my request. There's no need for you to penalize Evanna."

"A misunderstanding, you see, Narcissa?" Lucius said to her wife who was still critically staring down at her soon to be daughter-in-law. "Now, come, we mustn't be late."

"Have a good night," Narcissa said simply and hooked her arm through Lucius's. They Disapparated. She didn't apologize. Of course.

Evanna took the arm Draco offered her. He led her to her spot on the table and pulled out the chair for her. She thanked him and sat as he pushed in her chair for her gently. Draco went around and sat in his spot facing her. She stared at him.

"You didn't have to do that," Evanna said silently.

"Why?" he asked. "It was the truth. Don't tell me you preferred to be castigated and rebuked."

"Of course not," Evanna answered. "I just-ˮ

"You're not used to it, are you?" Draco interrupted with a smirk.

"Used to what?"

"Someone taking your side," he said knowingly, "defending you."

Evanna was rendered silent for a long while. Yes, he was right, of course, but she was taken aback by such an accurate assumption so early from this man she barely knew. It annoyed and angered her that he could see her so clearly yet his motives seemed so hazy to her. To speak plainly, he pissed her off and he seemed to be enjoying it.

"I would like to switch topics."

He smirked wider at her. "You brought it up."

Evanna stared at him and watched him grin deviously at her.

* * *

Lucius and Narcissa Apparated back to the Malfoy Manor. They were both tired. Keeping up pretenses all night and trying arduously to preserve the Malfoy reputation to a mob of gossiping cold hearted rich purebloods was hard work. Their goal seemed to be accomplished with proficiency though. The Malfoy name was safe for yet another day. Lucius was helping Narcissa out of her cloak when they heard Draco's laughter trail out of the library.

Lucius and Narcissa glanced at each other and looked to the direction of the library suspiciously. It was one in the morning. Respectable pure bloods were asleep by 10 PM at the latest unless they were at an important function.

Lucius and Narcissa walked over to the library and strolled in. Draco and Evanna were sitting in armchairs near the roaring fire of the fireplace, sipping tea. Narcissa was scandalized at her potential daughter-in-law's behavior. Lucius was curious. He saw beneath the exterior. Draco was laughing and Evanna seemed content.

"Draco Malfoy! Evanna Redway!" Narcissa said loudly, eyes narrowed like hawk's eyes. "Have you two any idea what time it is? Get to bed! This instant!"

Evanna immediately gathered to her feet and made to leave the room. Narcissa stopped her by grabbing her arm tightly. "We are going to have an extremely serious talk tomorrow about what it means to be a Malfoy, young lady. I want no more mishaps, understand?" Evanna nodded and Narcissa released her.

Evanna walked out, leaving the three Malfoys to deal with each other. Draco stood up with a sigh and tired his very hardest not to roll his eyes massively at his parents.

"Draco Malfoy," Narcissa hissed, "just what was going through your mind? How dare you let her stay up this late? Have you gone mad?"

"I wanted her to stay up with me, Mother," Draco said simply, meeting his mother's glare. "We were talking, having a conversation."

"It's one in the morning, young man!" Narcissa continued to scold. "You know better. She knows better. I expected better."

"What's so wrong about it?"

"Don't take that tone with your mother, Draco," Lucius said, stepping forward.

"I apologize."

"Respectable people are asleep at a respectable hour," Narcissa breathed angrily. "Evanna was raised to be the paradigm of respect, honor, and civility. You will not attempt to undo all of that well breeding and turn her into those whores that you so often keep company."

"With all do respect, Mother," Draco said, not releasing his mother's glare, "it is just that kind of unbearably high expectations that makes Evanna so distant and unhappy. Mark my words, if you keep locking her up this way, she'll end her own life."

"How preposterous!" Narcissa scoffed. "Evanna understands what is expected of her. She accepts and relishes her responsibilities."

"To some degree, maybe," Draco conceded, "but I've only been conversing with her for one day and yet I see that she is deeply upset. It is because she's kept in a glass box and put on display for everyone to see. She's not a doll, Mother. She's a real person and a real person can't be expected to be perfect. It can't be done."

"You're spouting nonsense, Draco," Narcissa insisted. "Evanna knows what is expected of her and you will not turn her into a hooligan. Staying up until one in the morning is a vulgar thing to do, do you understand me? It will never happen again."

"Of course, Mother," Draco answered politely, not breaking his stare with his mother. "Although what you ask is odd. I suppose I'm not supposed to enjoy the company of the woman that is to be my wife and live the rest of my life hating the woman making her loathe herself more than she already does now."

Narcissa's cheeks coloured as Draco's words hit her. Draco didn't wait for his mother to respond. He bid his parents goodnight and headed out of the room.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Social functions were at the heart of pure blood society. If you and your family were well connected, you'd find that there was a social event almost every night of the week. And if you were invited, it would be rude and disreputable not to accept. It would be even more rude and disreputable if you were to accept and not attend.

The Malfoys were invited to the Zabini Weekly Dinner Ball. Every Friday night, the Zabinis would hold a dinner ball for all their wealthy friends and colleagues. Lucius and Narcissa were charmingly chatting with the Zabinis over a glass of wine. Draco was talking to Blaise and Marcus Flint about various things. And Evanna sat at the table she shared with the Malfoys, drinking wine, staring out into nothing.

"I hear you're to marry Evanna Redway, Malfoy," Marcus commented with a grin, glancing at Evanna who was sipping her wine demurely. "Nice fine catch that one."

"Yeah," Draco said, snapping his fingers in his face to get his attention, "and I'd appreciate it if you didn't ogle my fiancée."

"I wasn't ogling, mate," Marcus laughed. "I was merely appreciating the aesthetic beauty your fiancée holds."

"Whatever," Draco rolled his eyes.

"She looks a bit unhappy there, Malfoy," Blaise observed and then put on a wretchedly sinister grin. "Perhaps she would have preferred me to be her husband."

"Not even in your dreams, Zabini," Draco said.

Draco gave both of them a look and walked away. He moved toward Evanna. She looked up at him briefly and went back to staring into her wine glass. Draco thought she looked absolutely stunning tonight. Her gold colored dress made her dark hair stand out and shine. But she wasn't happy. Draco saw how she dragged herself out of her room. He saw how she looked out the window every five minutes.

"Come on, Evanna, cheer up," Draco suggested to her, taking the seat beside her. "Mingle. Meet people."

"I'd rather not," Evanna whispered.

"You make it seem like you're here for an execution or something," Draco said and then stood up. "Come with me. I'll introduce you to some people."

"I'd rather-ˮ

"Evanna, please," Draco sighed, "if nothing else, meet my friends who'll be at our wedding."

Evanna stared at him. She felt churning in her stomach. She nodded and complied with his request. What else was she supposed to do? Evanna hooked an arm through his and allowed him to lead her away. She felt the world closing in on her. She saw her life as a bleak array of party after party, ball after ball. She saw where she was going and the thought that she would be nothing more than a pretty woman on a man's arm; a prize wife to parade around grieved her more than she could possibly put words to. Evanna saw the fake smiles as if she's seen them a million times. She heard the trivial chatter as if she's heard it a thousand times. The laughter buzzed around her head, the clink of wine glasses pounded her brain, the staccato of women's heels hammered her senses. She felt like she was going to explode. She wanted it all to go away. She wanted it all to stop!

"Draco, you look charming," a high pitched blonde girl squealed at Draco.

"Daphne, you look enchanting," Draco greeted.

"I'd be insulted if I looked anything less," Daphne laughed throatily.

She, the man on her arm, and Draco laughed heartily. Evanna smiled thinly.

"Daphne, Adrian," Draco said, looking down gingerly at Evanna, "this is my fiancée, Evanna Redway. Evanna, this is Miss Daphne Greengrass and Adrian Pucey."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Evanna said, smiling half heartedly and shaking their hands.

"The pleasure is ours, isn't it, Daphne?" Adrian chuckled.

"Oh, of course," Daphne giggled. "Draco, she's lovely."

"I think so, too," Draco answered with a proud smile.

"Merlin's beard, will you take a look at Millicent Bullstrode's dress?" Daphne whispered, horrified.

Evanna squeezed her eyes shut as the other three turned their heads to criticize Millicent Bullstrode. So it begins again: the endless agony of berating and insulting another witch behind her back and smiling and complimenting her to her face. This endless ritual sickened and angered Evanna. They do it to each other and instead of putting an end to it; they continue to ridicule each other as if it was some kind of twisted tradition.

"How sad," Adrian chuckled, criticizing Millicent's gown. "She actually looks like a toad now."

"To think that her family has all that money and they're using none of it to buy poor Millicent good looks," Daphne laughed wickedly.

"Daphne, you know that's not why they're not spending money to alter her looks," Draco responded. Daphne stopped and stared at him. Evanna glanced at him.

"What's their reason, then?" Daphne challenged.

"They need all that money to pay off some poor bloke who will have the sad task of marrying her," Draco laughed.

All three of them laughed together. Evanna pressed her lips together angrily. Her grip on Draco's arm tightened. She wanted to slap them all.

Draco looked down at Evanna, her grip on his arm actually starting to get painful. "Evanna, are you alright?" he asked.

"You shouldn't make fun of Millicent's dress," Evanna said tightly.

"You're quite right, Evanna," Adrian agreed.

"She is?" Daphne asked him, surprised.

"Yes, I mean, it's not just her dress. Her hair looks like spaghetti, her hips look like baby elephants and her nose is the size of a pumpkin, for goodness sake," Adrian laughed. "Her bull toad dress is the least of her worries in my opinion."

"How do you keep your hair so greasy and dirty looking, Adrian?" Evanna asked him pointedly.

"Evanna!" Draco exclaimed.

"I'm sure Millicent will take particular interest in learning that you're trying vainly to hide your mannish shoulders in that pathetic shawl, Daphne," Evanna continued scathingly.

Daphne's stare darkened. Draco looked at Evanna, horrified. "What has gotten into you?" he demanded.

"Excuse me," Evanna said, unhooked herself from Draco, and walked away.

Daphne and Adrian stared after her as she walked off, aghast. Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry," he laughed uncomfortably. "She's had far too much wine tonight."

"She's a firecracker," Adrian chuckled. "Are you sure you can handle her, mate?"

"Call me a lunatic but I quite actually prefer that side of her," Draco commented.

"It's because it's more interesting," Daphne explained. "No man likes a woman who's always proper and virtuous."

"You're not angry about what she just told you?" Draco questioned.

"Angry?" Adrian rolled his eyes. "Evanna's everything a pure blood woman should be. You'll have a damn near perfect wife, Malfoy."

* * *

Evanna stomped her way near the entrance of the ballroom, swiped a glass of chardonnay off a tray and took a very large and unladylike swig from it. Then she instantly felt bad that she behaved so discordantly and she sighed, regaining her composure. She wanted so badly to escape from the chains her upbringing put her in but she couldn't even bring herself to act uncivilized just for a few seconds. She was sickened by herself. Evanna took another swig of her chardonnay.

"Why don't you go easy on that stuff?" a voice behind her asked.

"I beg your pardon?" Evanna asked as politely as she could but she was really quite annoyed.

"I'm sorry, m'am, but I've worked these parties a lot and rich people like you don't seem to know that wine has higher alcohol content than other drinks," the man said.

Evanna looked him over. He was handsome, she supposed, in the wild untamed sort of way. He had tussled dirty blond hair and daring dark blue eyes. He had a defined jaw and a streamlined nose. He was by all accounts handsome. He was wearing an ordinary looking suit with an exceedingly gaudy tie. He was a butler type of worker, a servant. Evanna turned her back to him, intending to ignore the help. Pure blood ladies didn't associate with the dowdy. The man chuckled at her as if he expected her to do that very thing.

"Let me guess, princess," he drawled uncaringly at her, "you think you're better than me because you've been brought up thinking that being dry and boring means that you're more upper class than a person like me who's worked for everything and earned everything I have."

"Are you implying that you're better than me because you're poor?" Evanna demanded.

"No," he shrugged. "I'm implying that I'm better than you because I'm happy."

Evanna was silent for a long while. He was right. Of course he was. He was content with his life. She wasn't. She wished to be out of the hole her ancestry and blood had thrown her in and live a different life, a life that made her happy and content. In that respect, this random man who worked in this posh ball to pay off his bills or whatever was actually better than her. The fluffed up pure blood in her was irritated by that fact. The depressed little girl in her wanted to reach out and ask him how to get out. But she could never do that. She's been trained far too well to ask as if she was better than the rabble no matter if it wasn't true in certain respects.

Evanna motioned to move away from him but he stopped her.

"I'm Grayson," he said, "Grayson Hale."

Grayson Hale. It seemed like such a sophisticated name. It was ironic. He was still a servant and being seen chatting up a servant meant her and Draco would have hell to pay and she'd rather not go through that. Narcissa already thought that she might have made a mistake with Evanna. Even though all that's happened was all technically Draco's fault.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hale," Evanna told him, "but I have to leave."

"I'm sure you do, princess," he said, shaking his head and laughing. "But if you want to actually experience life, owl me at Hale House in Somerset."

Evanna moved away quickly. She will certainly not owl him and she will certainly not spend time with him. Evanna didn't know him at all. He could be planning something evil with her. She moved quickly away from him, trying to forget Grayson Hale's face and the brightness of his blue eyes. It was as if she was running away from him. Why did it seem as if she was running away from him? He had everything she wanted in life. He worked for everything he has and he was absolutely happy with his life. It was everything that Evanna wanted for herself yet she felt like she was running from it. She didn't understand it and it upset her even more.

She stumbled a little and fell into Draco's arm. He caught her and took a look at her disconcerted face.

"Are you alright, Evanna?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered, pulling herself out of her arms. "I just need to sit down."

Draco pulled out a chair for her and she sat down primly, breathing deeply. Draco sat beside her, watching her worriedly. Something seemed to have happened in the fifteen minutes that she disappeared.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked again.

"Yes, of course," Evanna tried to laugh. "Don't be silly."

"Do you want to go back to the manor?" Draco asked, peering into her face.

"No, no," Evanna said, pushing to her feet, "that would be exceedingly rude. I would never want to do that."

Draco looked up at her pale face. "Evanna, I'm sure everyone would understand if you don't feel well," he advised.

"That would be impolite, Draco," Evanna stressed.

"You shouldn't probably drink anymore," Draco suggested, standing up, the look of concern still prevalent on his face.

"Yes, yes," Evanna said in an attempt to be calm.

"Do you want to go onto the balconies to get some air?" he suggested.

"That would be lovely."

"Alright."

Evanna followed Draco to the nearest open balcony. Evanna scanned the crowd and found Grayson Hale smirking at her.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Such a lovely ball," Narcissa commented as the three Malfoys and Evanna stood in the foyer and shrugged off their cloaks.

Evanna quietly and simply shrugged off her own cloak. Draco threw her an angry glance that went unnoticed by his parents. Evanna wasn't surprised. By pure blood standards, she had behaved poorly that night.

"And the wine," Narcissa continued to coo, "the wine was just absolutely divine."

Evanna was surprised Draco didn't point this out to his parents. She and Draco stayed for a few more minutes and listened to Narcissa cluck about the Zabinis' excellent hospitality and marvelous catering. Once Narcissa sighed comfortably, signaling that she had finished her prattling, Lucius sent Draco and Evanna upstairs. Narcissa bid goodnight to the two couple. She had had too much to drink. Lucius watched her warily.

Once Draco and Evanna disappeared from his parents' hearing range, Draco gripped Evanna's arm tightly and dragged her the rest of the way to her room. He wrenched open her room door and shoved her in roughly. He followed her in and shut the door behind them with an angry snap. Draco had a feral look in his eyes. Evanna knew he had had a bit to drink as well. She didn't know what alcohol did to Draco and she watched him cautiously and not without fear.

"You're angry," Evanna observed quietly.

"You're damn right, I'm angry," Draco hissed at her. "What the hell's the matter with you tonight, Evanna? You insult my friends, tripped a servant causing him to spill his entire tray of wine onto Pansy Parkinson! What the hell is the matter with you?"

"What I did was-ˮ

"Don't interrupt!" Draco snapped angrily as Evanna lowered her head dutifully, giving him dominance. "You should be thankful, you know that? I could have told my parents and you would have been sent packing to your mother and live the rest of your life as a spinster! I thought we could at least be civil with one another! I thought we could have at least been friends or something! But I guess you don't want any of that. Well, fine, have it your way! But I guarantee you, Evanna, if you pull the same stunt like that again, I'll make sure you get kicked out of this manor. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes," she whispered.

Without another word, Draco stomped out of the room and slammed the door. Evanna flinched at the loud noise. She was rigid and shaking. She stared at the closed door for a long while, pleading the tears to stay put. Evanna finally released a long shuddering sigh. She turned and stared right into her reflection on a full length mirror.

Evanna stared at her elegant chignon hairstyle to the diamonds glittering around her neck to the gold gown fitting her slender frame. She heard the haunted laughter of her youth and the ghostly vision of her bright childlike smile. It was all gone. It had been forcibly replaced by this perfect monster. Evanna stared at her own reflection in the mirror and felt that she was staring at a stranger. She didn't know this socialite with the shiny dark hair neatly looped to the back of her head in an elegant chignon. She didn't recognize this debutante who sported the latest and most expensive trends. She didn't remember this polite and reserved young woman who stood with her back straight and her chin up. Evanna wasn't looking at herself anymore. She was looking at an ideal. The ideal pure blood woman stared back at her with empty eyes and a sullen face. Was this what the pure bloods wanted in their every home?

Evanna reached out and touched the mirror. The monster moved along with her. It was her. There was no doubt about it and in five months, she would permanently hold down that role and from then on, there would be no escape. From then on, there would be no hope of regaining the laughter and the joy in her life.

She tore her eyes away from her own reflection. Evanna pulled the pins out of her hair and felt the locks tumble free around her face. This can't be all there is to my life, she thought to herself.

* * *

"A Malfoy exudes grace and elegance, beauty and charm, wit and vivacity," Narcissa lectured, pacing back and forth in front of Evanna who sat sipping her afternoon tea, giving the impression of listening. "She must adapt to every situation easily and effortlessly. She must behave like a lady and talk like a lady. Do you understand, Evanna, dear?"

"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy," Evanna answered dutifully.

"Call me Narcissa," Narcissa replied, giving her soon to be daughter in law a half smile. She then took Evanna's face in her hands and looked into her eyes. "You are expected to be a great Malfoy wife and I expect no less than the best. Are we clear?"

"Absolutely," Evanna answered.

"Fabulous," Narcissa clapped her hands two times sharply.

Narcissa then turned her attention to her son who stood looking out the window with his hands in his pockets, an impassive and nonchalant expression on his face. Draco refused to touch his tea, refused to sit beside Evanna. Evanna had watched him warily. Narcissa seemed satisfied. Draco was asserting his dominance and virility. He had to do it, of course but he chose to do it at an unfortunate time. Draco and Evanna must choose the type of paper in which to print their wedding invitations on.

"Draco, come away from that window at once and sit beside Evanna," Narcissa commanded and watched as Draco sighed, dragged himself away from his musing and dropped into a seat beside Evanna without giving her a look. "Now, I will bring in the paper specialist and you both will choose the type of paper in which to print your invitations."

"Paper specialist?" Draco scoffed. "How many types of paper could there be?"

"You shall soon find out, my dear," Narcissa said and moved toward the door. "Wait here."

Narcissa stepped out of the room and Draco and Evanna heard her footsteps fade away. Evanna didn't look at Draco but down at her folded hands on her lap. Draco refused to look at her. Evanna decided he was still vexed about her insulting all his close friends and dousing an ex-girlfriend with glasses of wine even though she deserved what she got, that bitch. Evanna didn't dare sigh or make a sound. This will be what her life would be like, an endless stream of silent moments where not a word will be spoken and she will pass her life by in a daze, listening to the drone of her own wandering mind.

"Listen," Draco finally said, "I don't want to be here for-bloody-ever so just choose whichever paper you want and get it over with."

"I'll do my best," Evanna replied and was met with a short snort and a roll of his eyes.

The door knob turned and Narcissa came back in, a flaky looking old man following close behind her. He was bent over as if he had been carrying a heavy load on his back for most of his life and has just recently had it removed. He did, however, carry a good size box in his arms. Narcissa instructed him to place it on the coffee table in front of Draco and Evanna.

"This is Henley," Narcissa introduced as the old man laid out different kinds of paper that all looked the same to Draco. "He will help you in you paper selections. You will choose two of the few he is going to show you. One will be for your actual wedding invitation. It will be attached to a bouquet of red roses in a white porcelain vase. The entire thing will be your wedding invitation. The second paper is for your rehearsal dinner invitation. It will only be a simple invitation but it must be remarkable nonetheless. Now tell them about the paper, Henley."

"Well," the man said in a squeaky voice. "you could either choose traditional or non traditional. Traditionally, there's cardstock that can come in a variety of colors. You could put vellum paper over it to embellish it a bit for an extra fee of course. There's also linen paper…"

Henley went on and on about the different types of paper in front of them. Draco took each paper showed to him and folded them in intricate patterns, bored. He clearly wasn't listening and he clearly didn't care. Narcissa frowned upon his actions but Draco didn't care. He wasn't going to be castigated when there was company present. Evanna tried vainly to focus on Henley's words but Draco was far too distracting.

After half an hour, Henley was ushered out by Narcissa. Evanna chose the very costly Yuzen paper for the wedding invitations which seemed to gain approval from Narcissa and the elegant linen paper for the rehearsal dinner invitations. Narcissa seemed satisfied.

* * *

Afternoon tea with Narcissa and Aurelia was absolute torture. Evanna sat through the entire thing, feeling slightly nauseous. The two women were debating about the people to put on the list of invitees. Evanna stared down at the amber liquid of her tea as her reflection stared up at her.

"I rather find the Flint family's company rather tedious," Aurelia spoke condescendingly, sipping her tea demurely.

"I quite agree," Narcissa spoke. "But they've often invited us to many events over the years and it would be very uncouth to overlook them."

"This is quite true," Aurelia agreed.

"But it must be a large wedding to be sure," Narcissa added. "Anything short of a lavish wedding will be an insult. Wouldn't you agree, Evanna, dear?"

"Yes, of course," Evanna agreed. She didn't really care.

"Where is dear Draco?" Aurelia asked.

"He's out to ask Blaise Zabini to be his Best Man," Narcissa said happily. "Which reminds me, Evanna, dear, who will be your Maid of Honor?"

Evanna looked up from her tea in alarm. "I haven't thought about it, I suppose," Evanna answered.

"No matter," Narcissa sighed. "You have plenty of time though she has to be very reputable."

"Could I be excused?" Evanna asked.

"Of course, dear," Narcissa said and waved her off, signaling that she was free to leave.

Evanna walked to her room slowly, thinking to herself. She hadn't really thought about her Maid of Honor at all. She didn't really have very many girls that she considered friends. Every pure blood girl she knew was completely conceited and fake. Evanna really didn't feel a closeness to any of them. As she neared her room, she felt very uneasy. Who would she choose to be her Maid of Honor? She sighed roughly to herself in frustration.

Before Evanna got close to her room, she was greeted with a witch and a wizard Disapparating in front of her. It was Draco and that horrid Pansy Parkinson. Pansy was clinging to him like a leech and Draco looked absolutely full of himself. Evanna hid behind another section of hall so they would not see her.

"I don't know why you brought me here, Draco," Pansy cooed to him. "Your little tart of a fiancée might see us."

"Don't worry," Draco said as Pansy tittered, "she's downstairs having tea with my mother and her mother."

"How boring," Pansy commented. "I cannot believe they're making you marry such a stiff and tiresome woman, you poor thing."

"I know," Draco laughed. "Come on, get in before someone sees us."

Evanna heard Pansy giggle one more time and then muffled noise. Draco had apparently not closed his door properly. Evanna stared at the wall in front of her. She had tried so hard to be the ideal woman, the ideal pure blood. By all standards, she was what every pure blood man could wish for. She was the ideal woman to show off in parties. She was the ideal woman to have as a wife. Evanna had been forced into a life she didn't want all in pursuit of good reputation and a respectable husband.

Yet she was still not good enough. Draco still found it necessary to cheat on her. She had wasted her life trying to be something that she's not and he was throwing it all back in her face. Not that she fancied Draco in the least. She couldn't care less about him or his preference in women. But it was a prodigious insult to be cheated on with the likes of Pansy Parkinson. She was the kind of woman who had been labeled by her peers as a kind of a harlot. Tears stung the back of Evanna's eyes. Wasn't she good enough? Would she ever be good enough?

_"But if you want to actually experience life, owl me at Hale House in Somerset."_

The words of that servant, Grayson Hale came floating back to her. Evanna shouldn't even consider it. He was a servant. She shouldn't be fraternizing with his kind. Cheating with some no account servant was one of the lowliest, most uncouth thing that a pure blood lady could do. Evanna considered herself above all that.

Another peal of giggles floated out of Draco's room. Evanna clenched her fists tightly. She could just simply walk downstairs, fetch Draco's father and lead him upstairs. If it gets out that Draco had a woman in his room alone that was not his fiancée, the engagement would be all but terminated. No respectable pure blood woman would stay with an unfaithful man when she still had the option to walk away.

Evanna pushed herself away from the wall to confront Lucius about it but a more dastardly yet more gratifying solution to all this. Evanna walked toward her door and noticed that Draco's door was open a crack. She stared at it for a while, did nothing as another array of laughter tumbled out. Evanna sailed straight into her room and closed her door with a loud snap.


	7. Chapter 6

*I'd like to thank you guys for your support. You guys are awesome and I really appreciate your feedback. So on that note, enjoy Chapter 6!*

Chapter 6

Draco's gaze snapped away from Pansy as he heard Evanna's door shut loudly. He looked to his own door and his stomach fell at discovering that it was open. He told Pansy to wait where she was and not to make a sound. Draco got up and ventured out into the hallway. He made it out in time to see Evanna breeze out of her room, shrugging on a cloak. Evanna appeared not to have noticed him. Draco was still worried that she might have seen something, heard something, and if she said anything to his parents, he'd certainly have hell to pay.

"Evanna," Draco called out to her.

Evanna stopped and turned to him. She regarded him with her traditional gentle and even face. "Good afternoon," Evanna greeted politely. "Did your visit to the Zabini's go well?"

"Yes, very well," Draco replied quickly, watching her face carefully. "Are you… going somewhere?"

"I was just going to take a walk through the garden," Evanna answered. "Would you care to join me?"

"No," Draco refused with a quick glance to his room, "I'm busy."

"Well, perhaps another time," Evanna said dutifully.

"Yes, another time."

Evanna smiled shortly at him. "Give my regards to Miss Parkinson, won't you?" Evanna watched him pointedly as his eyes grew wide as he stared at her. At length, she excused herself and walked off.

Draco watched her polished gait as she headed off. He could not keep his jaw from dropping. She certainly knew. There was no doubt about that. Draco wondered at the calmness she exuded. It seemed as if she didn't even care. Then again, Miss Redway was impassive and accepting about a great many things. Draco's heart beat faster and faster. What would she do?

* * *

Evanna stepped out into the garden, relishing the fresh air that greeted her. The utter shock on Draco's face still fresh on her mind yet she refused to express triumph on her face. That was only one small battle won. Draco would surely send Pansy home. Only a total idiot would let the girl stay. Evanna turned to watch the sky begin to turn scarlet and sighed to herself.

She would have been pleased if she had turned Draco in for his licentious behavior but Evanna had a feeling that being released from this abominable marriage won't give her the satisfaction she craves. She spent most of her life tormenting herself all in pursuit of someone else's ideal woman only to have all her efforts thrown back in her face. Draco might have as well told her that she was worthless and all her suffering had been for nothing. A rush of anger surged through her and she had to squeeze her eyes shut and will herself not to scream.  
A light breeze wafted through her hair again and Evanna released a breath. She watched the flowers sway and dance, watched the sun slowly set. She heard phantom voices tease through her brain.

_"Do not for any reason do anything that will displease the Malfoys."_

_"You and Draco are to be married."_

_"We've no money left, Evanna, none! Have you forgotten that?"_

_"I would rather not marry someone as uptight and apathetic as you."_

_"You were raised to be better than this."_

_"If you want to actually experience life, owl me at Hale House in Somerset."_

Something snapped. The tenuous hold she had onto the façade that's been force fed to her broke. She couldn't live like this. This was no life. She wanted her own life. She wanted her own mistakes. She wanted her freedom. Evanna's eyes snapped open and this time, there was a fire in it that was never there before. This was her life, her only life, only chance at being happy and nobody was going to tell her otherwise or take it away from her. This was the world she was born into but she was going to deal with it however she chooses. This was her life. She had the choice to fuck it up and she would do it if she damn well pleases.

It was as if Evanna had woken up from some dreadful dream that trapped her for so long. She saw everything so clearly now. As the sun retreated farther into the horizon and the scarlet sky began to turn ebony, she only had one thought: And so it begins.

* * *

The Malfoy dinner table was silent that night except for the clinks of dinnerware. Draco watched Evanna with curious suspicion and slight nervousness. She didn't glance at him once and kept her head lowered and her back straight. Lucius ate silently, meditating on his own thoughts. Narcissa's mind was full of conjecture about the upcoming wedding and of the picnic party the Greengrasses invited them all to the next day.

"You're quite silent tonight, Draco," Lucius finally commented. "What inspired this to occur?"

"I've just been thinking, Father," Draco answered.

"Enlighten us with your thoughts," Lucius prodded.

"Well, I visited Blaise Zabini to ask him to be my Best Man,"Draco said, throwing a glance to Evanna as if expecting her to contradict him. He had not, in fact, asked Zabini to be his Best Man. He intended to the following day. "He seemed a bit bitter about the entire ordeal."

"Oh, how droll," Narcissa exclaimed with a slight chuckle. "I've always thought of young Mr. Zabini as the jealous sort. But really, if his parents couldn't afford to give him the best, that's hardly our fault."

"Very true," Lucius agreed. "What a pity. Blaise Zabini is a bright intelligent boy. A bright intelligent wife would be a very agreeable alliance, wouldn't you think?"

"Certainly," Narcissa agreed, "but where could such a woman to be found? I have it on good authority that pure blood parents let the upbringing of their children slip nowadays."

"How tragic."

"With the exception of Draco and our lovely Miss Redway, of course," Narcissa smiled at her son and future daughter-in-law.

Narcissa caught Evanna's eye and Evanna blushed rightfully. Narcissa was pleased with the apparent modesty. Draco was disconcerted by the inconsistency in Evanna's behavior. Any woman who caught wind of their significant other, appointed or otherwise, being disloyal would go beserk and act completely irrational and, in Draco's opinion, beastly. He had proved this theory to be true nine times out of ten after his own experimentation with his female acquaintances. Every disloyal action he previously committed was followed with bawling, nagging, angry rants, and multiple attempts at revenge. None of which were ever pleasant. Evanna acted as if nothing at all happened, acted as if she didn't know about Pansy at all. It stressed Draco. He assumed that she hadn't run to his parents to tell them all about it. If she had, his father would have been yelling at him for Merlin knows how long and the prized wedding his parents were so keen on would be immediately terminated. The family would be disgraced and it would be next to impossible to find a suitable bride with half Evanna's credentials.

Dinner was shortly over and dinner plates were then whisked away. Evanna and the Malfoys then walked to the parlor to enjoy a glass of wine and chat. Evanna dreaded this hour with the Malfoys. They always saw it fit to talk about other families and ridicule them. It seemed like a useless waste of an hour. Ridiculing others to no end neither changes them nor make their own selves any better.

"I think this whole business with the Greengrasses not being able to find a suitable husband for their youngest daughter is just dreadful," Narcissa pronounced, sipping her wine lightly.

"I quite agree," Lucius nodded. "Her older sister only has a tenuous hold on her fiancé as it is. I think it so upsetting that an upstanding pure blood family is so reduced to so low aspirations."

"And to think that poor Daphne's future husband is only a pure blood by complete accident," Narcissa went on. "His parents are both half bloods, you know. If the young man hadn't come into large fortune through his own efforts, I daresay the Greengrasses wouldn't even consider it."

"I'm inclined to think that the Greengrasses are giving a picnic party to exhibit their young Miss Astoria to the lot of still eligible pure blood bachelors," Lucius commented.

"Astoria is a dear sweet girl," Narcissa pronounced. "I wish her all the luck in the world. Merlin knows it's up to us to preserve the prestige of being pure bloods."

"Quite true, my dear," Lucius answered, "quite true."

A house elf popped in front of them and bowed a low bow, touching his nose to the ground. The three Malfoys frowned at the tiny raggedy looking thing as if it were an oozing sore in the middle of their lavish parlor. The elf maintained its prostrate position, waiting to be addressed.

"Yes, what is it?" Lucius snarled.

"Forgive me," the elf squeaked and held out a folded piece of parchment to Evanna, "but Miss Evanna has received a letter."

Evanna took the letter without a second look at the elf. Respectable pure blood ladies did not waste their time or breath on the help. Her name was simply written on it in smooth script. Lucius sent the elf away and gazed at Evanna.

"Who is it from, Evanna?" Narcissa questioned.

"I confess I don't have the faintest idea," Evanna said and lifted her eyes to look at Lucius and Narcissa. "May I be excused?"

"By all means," Lucius answered. "Of course you wish to read your letter in private."

"We shall see you in the morning, dear," Narcissa smiled at her.

Draco watched her as she rose gracefully from her seat and walk out of the parlor, gazing pristinely at her letter. She said nothing to him; she didn't look at him. Not that there was any particular reason for her to but this didn't keep Draco from feeling all sorts of paranoia out of the entire ordeal.

"You two will fare fabulously together, Draco," Lucius announced. "You need not worry."

"Forgive me, father," Draco said, "but that isn't what's on my mind."

"Oh?" Narcissa asked with a raised eyebrow. "Tell us what is. You were far too quiet at the dinner table. Your pert opinions were sorely missed."

"I was just…" Draco started, "thinking about who I wanted… to be groomsmen at the wedding."

"Well, I should think that any of your darling little friends would be honored to be groomsmen," Narcissa commented. "Why shouldn't they be?"

"Yes, you're right, mother. You've put my mind at ease," Draco complimented as his mother put on a look of absolute satisfaction on her face. "Could I be excused as well? It's been a tiring day and I'd like to turn in early."

"Of course, go ahead," Lucius answered, waving his son off.

* * *

Evanna pored over the contents of her letter. Her eyes were wide as she read every word, phrase, and sentence. She could not believe the arrogance and the nerve. She clutched the parchment tight in her hands, resisting the urge to yell out loud.

A loud knock sent her jumping a foot into the air. She quickly stowed the letter in one of the drawers of her desk and opened the door. Draco stood looking at her.

"Yes?"

"I think we need to talk," Draco told her.

"What about?" Evanna questioned.

"Could I come in?"

Yes, of course," Evanna answered, standing aside and watching him enter the room. She didn't close the door. It was improper to leave a door open but it was even more improper to close it and be alone in a room with a man who was not yet her husband.

"I think I should explain to you about Pansy."

"Please don't upset yourself over that situation," Evanna answered, smiling slyly at him. "I never meant for you to take the comment so seriously."

"You aren't angry?" Draco asked, watching her face suspiciously.

"I meant only to pay respect to your guest. I'm not angry," she said and then grinned sarcastically at him, "unless, of course, you've done something that's deserving of anger."

"No, of course not," Draco answered, still increasingly troubled by the smirk on her face.

"I'm glad," Evanna grinned. "If you'll excuse me, I believe I'll be getting ready for bed now."

"Yeah, sure," Draco replied, heading for the door, still very much worried. "Good night."

"Good night," Evanna closed the door behind him.

She put her hand over her mouth to hide her wide smile. What a joke, she thought to herself. She strolled back to her desk and pulled out her letter. She stared at the parting signature with a frown: Grayson Hale.


	8. Chapter 7

**_*Sorry for the extremely long wait. But I think I finally have gotten over my Draco Malfoy related writer's block. On to Chapter 7!!*_**

Chapter 7

Evanna watched the congregation jadedly, swirling the cranberry spritzer in her glass. It was supposed to be a picnic to show off the youngest Greengrass daughter, Astoria but when the Malfoys came, that all went out the window. Lucius and Narcissa joyfully announced to everyone there how elated they were that Evanna would soon join their family. For a time, every guest heaved congratulations and praise upon the young "couple". Draco had accepted the congratulations almost mechanically. Evanna had plastered on a mannequin like smile and thanked them all graciously.

Draco had disappeared some time ago. Evanna didn't go searching for him. She had no wish to spend any more time with him than was necessary. The arrogant cat and mouse skirmishes that had been going on between them lately were getting tiring and her patience for it was wearing thin. Besides, she wasn't so sure she would appreciate what she would find had she gone and looked for her beloved fiancé.

The congregation was now fussing over Daphne Greengrass. She stood next to her stick of a fiancé. They looked like two bamboo poles standing next to each other. It was quite a sight. Evanna didn't understand her thoughts. They had become increasingly vindictive. She still hated her state and couldn't believe her own mother would put money before her own daughter's happiness. But ever since catching Draco cheating on her, it seemed like something had snapped inside of her. It's as if she wanted to prove something to someone. It's as if she wanted Draco to see something, to make him realize something. What that is or how she'll do it is something she has yet to figure out.

Somebody bumped into her and Evanna jumped out of the way just in time to keep the person's drink from sloshing down the front of her expensive chartreuse day dress. Red cranberry spritzer splashed onto the grass.

"Oh, my dear Merlin, I am so sorry!!" the woman exclaimed. "I am such a klutz!"

"It's alright," Evanna said, surprised that there could be such clumsiness still existed in pureblood society. "But are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," the blonde looked at her and smiled prettily. "It seems that I have a fondness for offending guests today. I tripped one of my sister's friends, Pansy Parkinson, just an hour ago. It was awful."

"I'm sure she deserved it," Evanna said kindly, entertained by her bubbly personality.

"Well, if she did, I never would have thought she'd get what she deserves from me. She bloody well yelled at me for ten minutes for tripping her," she rambled and then gasped. "Oh no! I did it again. I just can't stop cursing. Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't tell," Evanna said, chuckling at her.

It was then that she looked up at Evanna. Her eyes grew wide and she half gasped. "Evanna Redway!" she exclaimed.

"Do I know you?"

"Well, no, not really," the woman replied. "It's just that you're held in such high regard by the pure blood community. We get compared to you a lot. You sure are difficult to measure up to, let me tell you. I always thought being perfect would be a pain in the arse but you seem to do it pretty well. Merlin, I just can't stop cursing!"

"I'm sorry," Evanna said.

"It's nothing to apologize for," she said, waving a hand in the air as if batting away an imaginary fly. "Some people are just naturally good at everything. I wish I was that way."

"Sorry, but what was your name?"

"Oh, I'm sorry!! Here I am prattling away and I haven't introduced myself yet," the girl extended a hand to Evanna. "Hello. My name is Astoria Greengrass."

"It's very nice to meet you, Astoria," Evanna said, shaking her hand. "I believe you're the most interesting person I've talked to today."

"Is that bad?"

"No, I want to thank you, actually," Evanna smiled. "I might have died of boredom otherwise."

"Oh. You're welcome then," Astoria said and then sighed. "You know, I think you're so lucky."

"How so?"

"Oh, come on," Astoria said giving her a look. "You're so absolutely beautiful and smart and everyone thinks so highly of you. Nobody looks twice at me. I'm just Daphne's little sister. Like I'm an afterthought or something. It's quite tragic."

"I never thought of it that way," Evanna confessed. "But I doubt you'd want to live my life."

"I'm not romantic, you know," Astoria informed, "or discreet. I only ask for a comfortable home, somewhere where I can be at peace. You're lucky that you're future is secured for you."

Evanna stared at her. This woman thought that her current state in life was lucky. She wanted to be in her place. Was she insane? This woman felt that she was unlucky indeed. She obviously thinks that she is inferior to Evanna. She had no qualms about admitting that. Yet she was smiling and grinning and acted quite juvenile and made childish comments. Why did Evanna find her suddenly so endearing? Why did Evanna suddenly feel that this earnest woman who was happy just to be happy was better than she could ever hope to be?

"I must be boring you," Astoria laughed.

"No, not at all," Evanna answered. "In fact, I think we could be good friends."

"I think that'll be great," Astoria giggled.

"Astoria, come here!!" Daphne shouted half drunkenly from a few feet away.

"It seems my sister has had more than her fair share of drinks," Astoria sighed. "I should probably stop her before she disgraces herself."

"Alright," Evanna chuckled, watching Daphne laughing openly, making a spectacle of herself.

"We'll talk again sometime?" Astoria asked.

"Yes, you can reach me at the Malfoy Manor," Evanna said, inwardly flinching.

"Great," Astoria said, hurrying to her sister. "I'll be seeing you then."

Evanna watched her flit away and try to wrench the alcoholic beverage from her sister's hand while apologizing to the congregated crowd for her sister's behavior. Evanna almost laughed as she watched Astoria almost spill her sister's drink on another guest.

"I didn't know you and Miss Astoria were friends, darling," Narcissa said, suddenly at Evanna's side.

"We've only just met."

"Quite a foolish sort of girl, isn't she?" Narcissa went on.

"I think it's her foolishness that makes her so delightful," Evanna responded.

"That's one way to look at it, I suppose," Narcissa said, an eyebrow raised. "And where is Draco? I haven't seen him in ages."

"I haven't the faintest idea," Evanna answered truthfully. "He does as he pleases as you know."

"Be a dear and look for him, won't you?" Narcissa said. It was more of an order than a request. "We should be leaving soon. This party is starting to become stale."

Evanna left her side. Being in Narcissa's company and talking to her was like getting jabbed with a red hot poker repeatedly for no reason. Evanna had no idea where to look for the man. The guests weren't allowed in the manor. The party didn't extend into the manor so there was no reason for them to go inside unless invited in by one of the Greengrasses. It was only logical to assume that Draco was still in the gardens somewhere.

Evanna ventured far away from the other guests looking for her beloved fiancé. She came upon a decent looking pond surrounded by tall evergreen trees. The smell of pine needles surrounded her and permeated the air. She almost sneezed when she heard a peal of giggles from behind a particularly crooked looking tree. Anger and pride crushing hurt pierced through Evanna. Not this again, she thought to herself, walking closer. Sure enough, Draco was there, leaning into Pansy Parkinson's neck, one arm securely banded around her waist. Evanna felt her pride sorely crushed. How did he know? How did this Neanderthal know just how to get to her? How does he know just how to make her angry and hurt at the same time? Why is he doing this? What did he have to gain for being such a flaming arse? The glaring thought that she still wasn't good enough loomed in on her. The obtrusive thought that everything she's gone through was futile and laughable made her hands ball into fists. Fury burned through her.

"Draco," Pansy breathed as she finally caught sight of Evanna.

Draco pushed away and looked at Evanna's livid face. A small smirk formed on his lips. "Give us a minute, won't you, love?" Draco said to Pansy.

Pansy grinned lasciviously at him and pushed herself away from the bark of the tree. Pansy walked to Evanna's direction, a smug grin on her pasty face. Evanna watched her every movement, venom in her eyes. Pansy stopped just in front of Evanna, a nasty smirk on her face. Pansy gave Evanna a condescending once over and scoffed. Evanna narrowed her eyes at her and gripped her wand tight. Draco caught the movement.

"Pansy, now," he ordered.

Pansy raised an eyebrow at Evanna as if challenging her and walked away. Evanna watched her with fury, wanting to tear her head off more than anybody else's. Draco plunged his hand into his pockets and lazily walked up to Evanna with all the arrogance and conceit he could muster. Evanna's eyes shifted to him and they stared at each other for a long while. Draco had a daring light in his cold eyes and Evanna's eyes were lit up with every sort of anger she knew of.

"Well?" he asked.

"Your mother asked me to find you," Evanna informed coldly. "It seems that we're about to leave."

Evanna turned to leave. "That's it?" Draco asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"You expected more?"

"Come on, Evanna," he laughed. "No insults? No threats?"

"Threats are the product of a weak and insufficient mind," Evanna informed him. "I have no use for such drivel."

"And suddenly you're so high and mighty," Draco sneered. "You're a rather curious person you know that?"

"I find that no other person can piss me off quite like you can," Evanna said with a scowl.

"I'm honored."

"It isn't a compliment," Evanna said, starting to head away.

"I suppose you're going off to tell my parents that I've been naughty," Draco stated, making Evanna halt in her tracks. "Then you can slink away with your freedom, can't you?"

"Is that what you want me to do?"

"It's no doubt what I expect you to do."

Evanna turned and looked Draco in the eye. "I'll never be good enough for you, will I?" she asked. "No matter what I do, you won't want me. Even though everyone else does, you never will because you didn't choose me. The arrogance in that is astounding. You pretended at first to give a damn about me and you defended me at first. And why? You wanted to get under your parents' skin. You're tragically spoiled and every bit of the idiot people say you are.

"You think I'm pathetic and hapless, a whiny little crybaby who thinks the world has turned against her. You don't think I'll amount to anything at the end," Evanna continued. "Go ahead. Think what you want. Say what you want. Do what you want because now, I've got something to prove. I'll prove you're wrong. And mark my words, Draco, by the end of all this, you're going to love me."

* * *

Evanna sat at a café in Diagon Alley, patiently reading a book, waiting. Grayson Hale. The arrogance. She couldn't believe what he wrote in that letter. There was just no way. It was a lie. There's no possible way that he…

"Been waiting long?"

Evanna looked up at his boyish smile as he plopped down into a seat in front of her. Evanna closed her book and watched him reach for a piece of bread in a basket, tear off a piece, and plunk it into his mouth. He grinned lopsidedly at her as he chewed. Evanna sighed, pulled his letter from the inside of her robes and dropped it on the table.

"What you wrote can't be true," Evanna said flatly.

"How do you know?" Grayson challenged.

"You have no proof that says you are," Evanna argued.

"And you have no proof that says I'm not," Grayson pointed out.

"Oh, this is pointless!" Evanna exclaimed.

Grayson laughed at her obvious annoyance. "You get worked up too easily, princess," he said, making Evanna roll her eyes. "Ask your loving mother about it then. Ask her about her illegitimate son. Ask her about your half brother. Ask her about the son she gave away. And then you'll have your proof, my dear sister."


	9. Chapter 8

_***To those who've been wondering: this story should get pretty frequent updates through the holidays. I found exactly what I want to portray and I'm excited to share it with you all. Thanks for the support!***_

Chapter 8

Aurelia breezed into her bedroom, shrugging off her mink fur coat. She threw it onto her bed casually. It was then she saw someone sitting in her European beech wood chair and her heart jumped to her throat. She looked harder and she recognized the familiar head of her daughter.

"Evanna, is that you?"

"Hello, Mother," Evanna replied, not bothering to stand up and face her Aurelia.

"Goodness gracious," Aurelia sighed, grabbing her diamond necklace. "You scared me half to death."

"Only half?" Evanna said tersely. "Pity."

"Not your sarcasm, Evanna," Aurelia breathed, sitting herself down in front of her vanity and began brushing her graying hair. "Do the Malfoys know you're here?"

"No."

"Evanna Redway, do you-ˮ

"Answer me something, Mother," Evanna said, rising from the chair and hiding something behind her back. "Do I have the right to know about my own family?"

"What a ridiculous question," Aurelia rolled her eyes, half watching her daughter approach her from the mirror. "Of course you do."

"About my grandparents?" Evanna continued, walking steadily towards her mother. "Aunts? Uncles? Cousins?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Aurelia huffed, waving an annoyed hand at her.

"And about my brother?" Evanna asked, directly behind her mother. "Do I have the right to know about him?"

A shadow of guilt passed across Aurelia's eyes as her gaze snapped up to meet her daughter's. "Yes," Aurelia answered, "if you had a brother."

"But I don't?"

"No, of course not," Aurelia said, rattling out a laugh. "My, you're rather inventive in your questions today."

"Enough, Mother," Evanna narrowed her eyes.

"Whatever do you mean, dear?"

Evanna hurled a file folder under Aurelia's nose. The emblem of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries shone on the front. Dread dropped on Aurelia like a bomb as she stared at the folder and what it could possibly contain.

"What is this?" Aurelia asked shakily.

"It's amazing how accurate St. Mungo's records are when it comes to children's births," Evanna said, straining to keep her voice from shaking. "According to this file, a male child by the name of Grayson Apollo Hale was born to a witch by the name of Aurelia Raquel Helton. Unless I'm very much mistaken, Mother, Helton was your maiden name."

"This must be some mistake," Aurelia breathed, tearing open the file folder.

"I'm so sure that St. Mungo's staff getting your full maiden name correct, your personal information, and family information is all just a clerical error," Evanna answered spitefully.

"Why are you-?"

"I met him," Evanna interrupted as Aurelia's eyes went wide.

"Evanna, you-ˮ

"Tell me about him, Mother," the words came out as an order. "Tell me about my brother."

"That person is not your brother," Aurelia insisted, shutting the file folder.

"Mother!"

"Grayson Hale isn't supposed to exist," Aurelia said, scowling into space. "He was a mistake, the worst mistake I ever made."

"He was your son."

"He was no son of mine!"

"You heartless-ˮ

"There are things about this you don't understand!" Aurelia argued.

"Then explain it to me!"

Aurelia stared into Evanna's cold eyes, anger burning through it like wildfire. Aurelia was fighting a losing battle and she was beginning to realize it.

"I was engaged to your father. It was an arranged marriage. I met Grayson's father during my bachelorette party," Aurelia relayed as if reliving the tale was like getting her tongue wrenched out of her mouth. "His father was a serving boy. I had a bit too much to drink. Things got a bit out of hand. I didn't think anything of it. The servant boy was a Mudblood. I smelled it as soon as he walked into the room. I had no intention of ever seeing him again. It was a one night stand, a dirty, filthy fling I needed to get out of my system. Nothing more.

"I got pregnant with a bastard child," Aurelia went on, watching with a frown as the scowl on her daughter's face grew. "Thankfully, Demetrius was away on a yearlong business trip. I hated the bastard that grew in me. I wanted to kill it. It shouldn't have been there. I wanted to get rid of it. But my mother, after punishing me severely, tartly said that a lady would never kill her unborn child. It was uncouth. I had to endure the unclean horror of it all. As soon as the thing was born, I gave it to some unknown and unimportant orphanage. I never heard or saw from the bastard child again. Demetrius returned soon afterward and it was as if nothing happened."

Aurelia stared evenly at her daughter who was now staring at her as if she was the devil herself. "How can you throw away your own son?" she hissed angrily at her mother.

"That thing isn't my son!" Aurelia insisted, surging to her feet in a wave of anger. "He is not your brother."

"He's your flesh and blood!" Evanna argued. "How can you abandon him?! It's beastly what you did. How could you? You were his mother. He was your son."

"He was a mistake," Aurelia argued. "What was supposed to do?"

"Own up to it!" Evanna yelled. "Take responsibility!"

"Not your infernal sense of right and wrong again," Aurelia scoffed. "You talk as if it's that easy. I did it for us! I did it for our family."

"What utter bullshit."

"Evanna, bite your tongue!"

"What you did was what was easy," Evanna screeched. "You turned your back on your own child! What kind of monster are you?!"

"I did it all for you, you ungrateful wretch!" Aurelia shouted. "I wanted what was best for you! I wanted you to be the best and have the best. A bastard brother would only hold you back. I am your mother! I did it out of love!"

"You're no mother of mine!" Evanna exclaimed, fire burning in her eyes, the words toppling out like wildfire. "You're a monstrous, weak, selfish, cowardly, gutless, disgusting, cow of a-ˮ

The slap echoed through the room. Evanna gasped as Aurelia's hand collided against her cheek. Tears stung her eyes. Evanna thought of how her mother trained her to be the perfect lady, bottling up the real girl deep inside her. She thought of how her mother easily gave her away to the Malfoys for money, ignoring what she wanted. She thought of how her mother threw away her own child, calling him nothing, a bastard. Evanna has had enough.

Evanna looked up at Aurelia with furious determination, raised her hand, and slapped her. Aurelia's face was alive with shock. She stood in her spot, frozen.

"I have had enough of this nonsense," Evanna hissed at her. "I don't know who you think you are or why you feel you can toy with people's lives but I won't have it anymore. I don't care what you do. I don't care what you say. I'm an adult and I don't answer to you anymore."

Without waiting for her answer, Evanna turned her back on Aurelia.

"Evanna," Aurelia breathed, venom in her voice, "you are not going to throw away everything I've worked to obtain for you. You're not going to turn your back on your duties."

"Why not?" Evanna responded. "You seem to be an expert at doing such a thing."

"Evanna Redway!" Aurelia screeched. "Let's be clear. You are walking down that aisle and you are marrying Draco Malfoy."

"For all I care, you can marry Draco Malfoy."

* * *

Evanna Disapparated into her room in the Malfoy Manor. She pointed her wand to the closet and two luggage bags sailed out. She flicked it towards the closet again and clothes and shoes started sailing out and folding themselves neatly onto the luggage bags. The luggage was filled with plain clothes and shoes. Nothing special. She shrunk the two bags and plunged them into her pockets. She stared at the fancy dresses still hanging in the closet and glared at them with repulsion. She pointed her wand at all of it and it all burst into flames, falling to ash on the floor. She took down her massive jewelry box and opened the lid. Brilliant gems and stones glittered up at her, winking and glinting. With a primal screech, Evanna threw the entire box out the window. She watched the necklaces, bracelets, and earrings scatter into the sky. She pointed her wand at them and they all spontaneously combusted, falling like glitter to the ground below.

Her chest was heaving as she stood in the empty room. She had had enough. She wasn't going to live like this anymore. She would not let this damn charade, this sham of an engagement, this fraud of a life go on. There was just no way she would live behind a mask, behind a faux smile and let herself waste away to nothing. She'd become the kind of woman her mother was and she'd be damned if she would let that happen.

Evanna heard peals of laughter come from next door. Draco's room. The swine is at it again, Evanna thought angrily, balling her hands into fists and stalking out of the room, her head spinning with rage. She put her hand on Draco's doorknob and found the door locked. She had no patience for his idiocy. She whipped her wand out and pointed it at the door. The door blew open with a deafening crash. Evanna heard a woman's shriek as she entered the room.

She saw clothes littered on the floor. Men and women's clothes. On the bed, Pansy was cowering under Draco's naked arms, clearly in her bra and panties. Pansy had the look of surprise and terror on her face. Draco stared at Evanna shocked to see the unadulterated fury in her eyes and face.

Evanna stomped toward the bed and gripped Pansy's arm tightly, yanked her from the bed out of Draco's arms, and dragged her down the hall. Enough was enough. It was time for shit to hit the fan. Pansy called her all sorts of names and insults as she was dragged half naked down the stairs of the Malfoy Manor. Draco chased after them, shrugging on a shirt, yelling threats and warnings to Evanna. They were all futile. He couldn't keep up with her either. He couldn't even catch her. She was running on anger and adrenaline and all Evanna could see was red. It had taken years. But the calm façade was broken. She wasn't living like this anymore. Not anymore.

Evanna dragged Pansy into the family room where Lucius and Narcissa were having tea. The Malfoy parents' eyes grew wide when they saw the ferocity in Evanna's eyes. Evanna heaved Pansy to the ground in front of Lucius and Narcissa. Narcissa leapt out of her seat with a loud gasp as if she had just seen a dead corpse. Lucius rose to his feet, a grimace firmly painted on his face.

"What is the meaning of this, Evanna," Lucius demanded, watching his son enter the family room, his chest heaving.

"Here is the slut your son has been playing with for weeks," Evanna growled. "I've caught them in the act. How do you expect any woman to marry your bastard son when he keeps whores like this locked up in his bedroom? What a pitiful beginning. We weren't even close to being married."

Draco watched his parents' enraged eyes turn to him. Damn woman, Draco thought, a feral snarl forming on his lips. She was putting him in the Guillotine. Draco grabbed Evanna by the shoulders and shook her roughly.

"What have you done, you idiot?!" he raged.

Evanna broke free from his grip and punched him square in the face. Draco did not expect such a move and he fell to the ground.

"That's for every hell you put me through, you sick slimy bastard!" Evanna shouted at him. "And just so we're clear. You and I, we're far from through."

Narcissa was moved to action by the sight of his son getting punched by a woman. "Who do you think you are, you disgusting tramp?" Narcissa raged and slapped Evanna across the face.

Evanna scowled at her and slapped her back. Narcissa tumbled backwards in surprise and would have fallen to the floor if Lucius had not caught her in time. Evanna stared at the dumbfounded and somewhat frightened group around her.

"You never listened to anything I ever said. Well, you're listening now, aren't you?" Evanna said with a sick smile. "You can all continue playing pretend royalty in this twisted world of yours. I don't give a rat's arse anymore. But hell if I'll participate in it any further. Go on and say what you want about me. Tell them all I've gone wild. I don't care. Better yet, I'll tell them myself. But I am never going to sit like a frozen statue for you deplorable sons of swines to parade around. You can all go to hell."

With that, Evanna Apparated away, leaving a stunned and enraged Malfoy family and a mortified and frightened Pansy Parkinson. After a long while of silence, Lucius and Narcissa turned their venom laced glares to Draco and Pansy. Their supposed prized princess had gone berserk and there was hell to pay.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Grayson had a cook book propped open in front of him. He was scrutinizing the picture as he stirred the soup in the pot. His soup was of a different color than the one in the picture. The picture sported a creamy cream color, a soft yellow. His soup was blue. What the hell, he thought. What did he do wrong? Stupid blue soup. He glowered at the soup. Fuck the soup, he decided. He's going to have a sandwich.

A loud knock came to his door as he was turning the fire off on the stove. He looked up curiously. After looking back to make sure the stove followed orders and was indeed shut off so the house wouldn't burn to a crisp, he made his way to the front door. He wrenched open the door and found her standing there.

"Evanna?" She looked uncertainly and a little embarrassedly at him. He noticed her cheeks were flushed and her hair was in slight disarray. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" she asked earnestly.

* * *

Astrum Society: the place where the wizarding elite with far too much time and money came to spend time with witches and wizards with also far too much time and money. It was where the rich and famous came to meet other rich and famous people to be friends with, be lovers with, and be business partners with. The older members came to bask in each others' richness. The younger members came to flirt with each other and exchange gossip.

Sebastian Cardonell sat to the right of Draco, not listening to his complaining. It was going to be a huge scandal. Draco had told his closest friends, Blaise and Sebastian, all that had happened earlier that morning. The way Evanna had dragged Pansy Parkinson half naked in front of his parents, the way she punched Draco, and the way she slapped Narcissa. The entire wizarding world would know of it by next morning. Pansy Parkinson herself would make certain of that. Sebastian saw from the corner of his eye that she was whispering feverishly to a group of girls congregated around her. They all had wide eyes. Sebastian resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

He looked at Draco sideways. He refused to tell anyone anything. The only people he told were Blaise and Sebastian. It was quite ridiculous how Draco considered him to be a good friend. They had only met two or three years ago. It wasn't as if Sebastian was complaining of course. His parents encouraged the friendship. Besides, Sebastian didn't think ill of Draco. He had his moments. Sebastian actually thought Draco was a decent friend, loyal when he had a mind to be. He only wished his moments of vain idiocy weren't so frequent.

"Can you believe this?" Draco asked, scowling.

"You're going to have a black eye, mate," Blaise laughed. "Must have been one hell of a punch."

"You think this is funny?" Draco snarled.

"Somewhat, yeah," Blaise nodded.

"Screw off, Zabini."

"The language!" Blaise exclaimed, feigning shock. "Are you hearing this, Sebastian?"

"I fail to be interested," Sebastian replied, turning the page of his book.

"Do you know what this means, gentlemen?" Draco asked as Blaise and Sebastian turned their eyes to him. "Evanna Redway has gone against her own. What happens when one turns on their own kind?"

"Retribution," Sebastian supplied.

"Exactly!"

"On Evanna Redway?" Blaise scoffed. "Come on. She's the paragon of perfection. We can't bring social retribution on her."

"She's not the paragon of perfection anymore," Draco narrowed his eyes. "Do you want social retribution in Evanna's place, Blaise?"

"Let's not be hasty," Blaise said.

"Fine then," Draco said and puffed out his chest importantly. "I, Draco Malfoy, pronounce social retribution on Evanna Redway."

Sebastian sighed and turned back to his book. Social retribution was one of Draco's most ridiculous and utterly useless ideas. It did nothing but fuel his own ego and amusement. Draco looked smug in his proclamation.

* * *

"Where are we?" Evanna asked, tying her hair in a ponytail. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Well, Evie, my darling little sister," Grayson said, slipping on rubber gloves, "you've decided to live with me now but I just can't let you bum off me. That's not how the real world works. You'll earn your keep, young one."

"Well, that's all fine and good but what are we doing here?" Evanna asked. She looked at the brooms and mops, sponges and rags that were littered around them as they stood in the foyer of a magnificent manor.

"We, my dear," Grayson said, picking up some sponges, "are going to clean this manor."

"Clean it?" Evanna asked dubiously, staring at the largeness of the manor. "All of it?"

"Yeah," Grayson said, thrusting a mop at his newly found sister. "I'll start upstairs. You start cleaning down here."

"But Grayson-ˮ

"What?" Grayson asked over his shoulder. "You do know how to clean, don't you, princess?"

"Um… yes?"

"Is that a question?" Grayson raised an eyebrow at her and then sighed. "Maybe you shouldn't do this, Evie."

"No!" she protested, dragging the mop away, her nose in the air. "I'm going to help you with this. It's the least I can do considering I'm living in your house."

Grayson watched her stomp away, a small smirk on his face. A spitfire, that one. He lugged his equipment up stairs, intending to clean the second story whistling to himself.

* * *

Evanna set one mop mopping by itself on the opposite end of the foyer while she started sloppily at the other end. She was making more of a mess than cleaning anything up. She frowned at her reverse progress. Shit, she thought, Grayson is going to be mad if he has to do twice the work. Nobody ever taught her how to clean anything. Evanna looked at the other mop on the other side of the room. It was swaying as if it was dancing, making mud in circles on the marble floor. She gasped and ran to it, stopping it from doing anything. The other mop plopped to the floor, sending water spraying everywhere.

Evanna's jaw dropped and she smacked her forehead. What the hell had she gotten herself into? As she closed her eyes and sighed, she saw Draco's leering face.

_"Pathetic," he would say, "you can't even do this right. What are you good for?"_

Evanna stomped her feet. Stupid, egotistical, insane, megalomaniac!! How dare he hypothetically insult her?! She'll show him. This is just cleaning. If she can make a mess then she should technically be able to clean that mess up. She would show that disgusting blonde imbecile a thing or two.

Hours later, Evanna had begun to work up a sweat. She cleaned (successfully) the lower level of the manor and was now working her way to the back. She only had one leg of hall and a room left and then she would be finished. Her brow was drenched in sweat but she never quit. Somewhere between cursing Draco Malfoy, her mother, and all the other rich snobs of the world, she had found a rhythm to her cleaning and for the first time in her life she felt as if she actually accomplished something. It wasn't her home. She didn't know whose manor it was to be honest but she felt damn proud of what she had accomplished, what she had completed. She had earned money for the first time in her life. The thought made her grin and she set about wiping the countertops and table clean, determined to make them spotless.

She stood back and admired the spotlessness of a polished table. "Take that and suck on it, Draco Malfoy," she said happily to herself.

That was then she heard it. A slow soft and almost melancholic song that emanated from an open doorway. Someone was playing the piano and it was the best and most passionate thing she has ever heard in her entire life. It was as if all of the emotions and feelings were transferred to the keys and floated out in deep sentimental melodies. Entranced, Evanna dragged her mop over to the open doorway and looked in.

Evanna found that it was a music room. A large white grand piano stood facing a large window. The sun was setting in the horizon. A tall gentle looking man was playing the piano methodically, his eyes closed, his fingers dancing over the keys adeptly. Evanna was instantly mesmerized. He had neat brown hair and his face was the perfect shape of oval, clear and smooth like it was carved from fine porcelain. He exuded gentle sweetness and an air of sophistication. Evanna couldn't help but watch him with awe. She had never met someone with so much charisma and magnetism and he was doing nothing but play the piano. Evanna thought of a story book prince as she watched his fingers leap and bound over the keys, a soft sweet melody serenading her senses.

She could feel her face go red and her mind go numb. She let go of the handle of the mop she was holding and the mop clanged to the floor as the wood handle crashed with the marble floor. His hands stilled over the top of the keys and he turned to face Evanna. His eyebrows raised a fraction as he saw her. Evanna noticed that he had the softest blue eyes she had ever since. He became even princelier to her. He took in her disheveled appearance and the sweat on her forehead with a clinical eye. Evanna felt like a thrown away rag doll compared to him. She all but resisted the urge to reach up and fix her already untidy hair. After a while, Evanna became aware of who she was and what she was supposed to be doing.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I was only cleaning. I didn't mean to disturb you, I was just… Please con-ˮ

"Wait," he said in a voice that reminded Evanna of honey, "you are-ˮ

"Evanna!" Evanna looked to her right and found Grayson walking quickly towards her. "There you are," he continued to say. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Come on, it's getting late. You should be already done. We just got paid and we have somewhere to go before we go home."

After Grayson's little speech, he looked into the room and found the man had turned himself away from the piano and had stood up, watching the brother and sister interestedly. Evanna noticed that his crisp button down shirt hinted at the strong muscles underneath and she could almost feel herself blushing again from the thought. Grayson's eyes only grew wide as he saw him.

"Young master," Grayson greeted, pushing Evanna behind him. "I hope my sister wasn't bothering you. It's her first day today, you see."

"No, she wasn't bothering me," he answered.

"Oh, good," Grayson chuckled uncomfortably. "Well, sir, we'll be going now."

"Wait-ˮ the man tried to say.

"Good evening, sir," Grayson said politely and ushered Evanna away.

Evanna, who still hasn't found her tongue, let herself be swept away by her brother. Grayson was telling her that she shouldn't bother the people they work for when they're cleaning. Grayson lectured Evanna that the rich liked the line between rich and poor clearly drawn. Evanna knew all this, of course. She had lived in that world for so long. She knew what the rich were like. But as she let herself be ushered away by her brother, her head was filled only with the soft rich music of the piano and the beautiful eyes of the man playing it.

* * *

Sebastian watched the siblings exit the manor. He stroked the owl at his wrist. He had written Draco a letter, intending to inform him of the information he had just garnered. Sebastian had stopped short of setting the owl loose into the night when he happened to see Evanna Redway with her "brother". As far as Sebastian knew, Evanna Redway didn't have a brother. Of course, the entire situation surrounding Evanna was all very vague to everyone at the moment and it really wasn't Sebastian's business in particular.

Sebastian watched Grayson and Evanna for a long while. Grayson seemed fond of Evanna enough. He took great care when talking to her and touching her. Sebastian watched them Apparate away as the skies began to darken.

How very curious, he thought. Cleaning a manor? Looking like a peasant? A brother? How odd, he mused. He stared at the owl on his arm and the letter clasped to its feet. He thought about it for a while and reached forward to close the window. He turned away, stroking his owl, listening to it hoot softly as if with approval.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Where are we now?" Evanna asked, looking around the place suspiciously.

"What are you talking about?" Grayson asked. "It's a market."

"Market?" Evanna asked, looking at the stacks of strange looking packages and hunks of meat laying out at random places. "It smells like overripe vegetables and raw meat."

"Well, that's what a market is, stupid girl," Grayson chuckled.

"We're buying food from here?" Evanna asked astoundedly. "Won't we get a disease?"

Grayson gave her a long suffering look. "Look, princess," he said exasperatedly, "I'm sorry if this doesn't suit your rich girl tastes but this is what we can afford. You won't find caviar and escargot here but this food is just as good. It's just that these animals weren't fed with money when they were still alive."

Evanna glowered at him as Grayson raised an obnoxious eyebrow at her. He told her he was going to get a few things and she could explore the market if she wanted. But Evanna had to make sure she returned to that very spot beside the meat after exactly an hour. If she didn't and Grayson had to go search for her, he would put spiders in her bed that night. Evanna snarled at him and hit him over the head. Grayson laughed and walked away, mumbling about his sister's violent albeit funny behavior. Evanna stuck her tongue out in the direction of her brother.

Evanna looked around the market. It was gross, she thought. She wasn't so sure the food bought here was clean. It was certainly cheap though. She sighed. You certainly pay for what you get. She walked among the hunks of pork, beef, and chicken, pinching her nose. How can they leave all that lying around at the mercy of flies? She walked past an aquarium full of live tuna, salmon, and catfish. She bent down and watched them swim around, their eyes wide and their mouths gaping. Evanna laughed as she watched one catfish run into the glass.

She followed the fragrant smell of apples and found herself at the fruit and vegetable section. The apples were all bright red and stacked cleverly against each other so they wouldn't fall to a heap on the floor. Evanna scrutinized each and every single apple and found that they might have been just picked from the tree earlier that day. There was still a little dirt on them. The tomatoes lay together spectaculary, red orange and beckoning. They looked juicy. Though the fruit looked scrumptious, the smells of the different vegetables blended together and formed an overpowering odor. She felt like she was going to turn into a vegetable herself.

Evanna walked off towards another part of the market. She walked in and out of aisles filled with boxes and boxes of goods. All sorts of things lined the shelves: baking powder, pancake mix, crackers, instant mashed potatoes. They were all so fascinating. Evanna wondered how one made mashed potatoes from powder. She found this curious and mused over it for a long while when she heard a voice.

"Well, look what we have here, ladies."

Evanna turned around. Her head reeled. Merlin's beard, she thought to herself, she could have met anybody in the entire world and it had to be her. "What the hell are you doing here, Pansy?"

"Me?" Pansy scoffed. "My family owns the jewelry boutique right across the way and my friends and I thought it would be a right brilliant laugh if we came in here and played pranks on the commoners before we all headed home. We had no idea the jewel of the pureblood society would be here as well. I guess we shouldn't be surprised. We've all found out what a fake you are, haven't we? How mortifying."

"You really are thick, aren't you?" Evanna asked with a scowl as Pansy's friends appropriately gasped. "I'm in no mood for your face, Parkinson, so why don't you just bugger off?"

"You're really in no position to give me orders," Pansy told her. "I don't take orders from paupers."

"And I don't have to take shit from women whose got their heads stuck up their own arse," Evanna remarked.

Pansy winced angrily as her friends glared right along with her. Pansy walked slowly towards a shelf and picked out a box of flour. She tore open the packaging and plunged her hand in. Evanna (and Pansy's mob) watched her, confused. Pansy pulled her hand out of the package and rubbed her flour filled hands together. Then she scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Figures," she breathed. "Even something as simple as flour feels like dirt when it's specifically made for paupers." Then Pansy took a look at Evanna and walked up to her, the box of flour still in her hand. "You quite gave Draco a scare, you know."

"I don't really care about him."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Pansy snarled. "But I suppose I should tell you that you embarrassed him and the entire Malfoy family with your disgusting display. Everyone's talking about it. They're humiliated and it's entirely your fault."

"They deserved what they got."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess you've proved that you are just scum. Oh, well, I suppose there must be an atrocious coal in a gallery of diamonds."

"You are so full of shit, Parkinson," Evanna scowled at her.

"Did I tell you to answer, you indigent idiot?" Parkinson scowled. "You've been knocked down the social ladder from the moment you made such a travesty of yourself. It's time you know your place."

Pansy and Evanna had a tiny stare down. After a while, a wide smirk crept across Pansy's face. With one swift movement, she poured the flour over Evanna's head. Evanna's jaw drop as she felt the flour cascade over her head and onto her shoulders. Pansy laughed and walked back to her friends who had grabbed some eggs off the shelf and started throwing them at Evanna. Evanna gasped as she felt eggs collide against her and break, showering her with the slimy ooze of egg. Wicked laughter surrounded her and out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the customers of the market stop and watch. Stark humiliation descended on her. It was the sort of embarrassment that made a person feel as if they had just been punched in the gut.

Evanna could see Pansy's leering face as she was pelted with eggs. She didn't want to cry. She wouldn't give Pansy that satisfaction. She wouldn't give anyone that satisfaction. The egg shower halted and Evanna looked out from under her egg soaked hair. Pansy was giving her a challenging look.

"Is that it?" Evanna declared as Pansy's brows rose curiously. "You think you can get to me by throwing flour and eggs at me? What? Are you a child?"

"Haven't had enough?" Pansy sneered. "Girls?"

As if on command, Pansy's gang grabbed bags of chocolate chips from the shelves. They tore it open and started pelting Evanna with them. The little pieces of chocolate stuck to the egg already on Evanna. Evanna endured the hail of chocolate, swearing to kick Pansy arse.

"What's going on here?"

The voice halted the torrent of chocolate. The crowds parted. A man walked into the throng. He had his hands in his pockets, the slightest swagger in his step. Evanna watched his feet approach. Everyone watched him as he looked from Pansy and her cohorts to an egg, flour, and chocolate covered Evanna. He frowned. He looked at the people gathered around them, watching. He scowled at them all.

"You all return to your own business," he commanded. "Go on! Clear off."

The crowds thinned and dissipated, looking over their shoulder curiously. He turned around and regarded Pansy with a cold eye.

"Are you going to pay for all this merchandise you just wasted?" he asked Pansy.

"What business is it of yours, Sebastian?" Pansy questioned.

"Seeing as though my family owns a chain of retail stores, this one being one of them, I'd say it is completely my business," Sebastian returned. "I can't have you waste all this because you simply want to. Someone has to be made to pay."

"Fine," Pansy said haughtily and turned her back. "Send the bill to my manor. There's no problem with paying for commoner items."

"You can count on me doing just that," Sebastian answered.

"Draco won't be happy that you went to this girl's rescue," Pansy pointed out. "He wouldn't appreciate his best friends turning against him."

"That's none of your concern."

Pansy huffed and walked away, obediently followed by her cohorts. Sebastian turned towards Evanna who stood rigid, covered in crud. Sebastian pulled out his handkerchief and walked up to her. He turned up her face towards him and wiped off the flour and egg and chocolate from her face. Evanna looked up into his face. She watched him curiously as he strove to remove the baking ingredients from her face. He was supposed to be one of Draco's best friends. Yet he was there, told off Pansy, and was helping to clean her up. His face was so gentle and handsome. She almost couldn't believe how incredibly tender he was to her. It became hard to believe that such a person would be friends with Draco. Evanna almost didn't believe it.

Sebastian took her hands, opened it, and placed the handkerchief in her palm. He stared down at her. "You're a little thick, you know?" he said and Evanna looked up at him, surprised. "You should have fought back."

"They would have done worse things had I fought back," Evanna murmured.

Sebastian smiled suddenly and the action lit up his face. Evanna stared at the brilliant grin. She felt as if she would melt. She had never seen such a heart twisting and heart pounding smile in her entire life.

"You're friends with Draco?" Evanna asked.

"It seems that way."

"Wouldn't he be angry?"

"My actions have nothing to do with Draco," Sebastian answered smoothly and turned to leave. "Clean yourself up, won't you?"

"Wait, your handkerchief," Evanna said, holding it out to her.

"I don't need it."

"Thank you for helping me," Evanna said, holding the handkerchief to her chest.

"I wasn't helping you," Sebastian said over his shoulder. "I just couldn't stand back and watch this happen in my family's property."

Evanna watched him walk away, holding on to the handkerchief tightly. He was Draco's friend. He helped her out of a sticky situation. She didn't understand this Sebastian person. She didn't understand the way her face started to heat up when he was close to her. Evanna took her wand and cleaned herself off entirely. She walked back to the place where she was supposed to meet Grayson. He was already there, bags in his hand.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"Just looking around," Evanna replied.

"What's that?" Grayson asked, staring at the white cloth in her hand.

"Just a handkerchief," Evanna said, plunging the handkerchief into her pocket and taking some bags from her brother. "Should we go now?"

* * *

Draco looked at the thuggish looking wizards in front of him, a smirk on his face. The three of them looked blankly back at him. Draco dearly loved thick morons.

"Do you three understand what I'm telling you?" Draco asked.

"Yeah," thug one grunted.

"I don't want you to hurt her, understand?" Draco stressed. "I don't want any damn scandals and I don't want you idiots to drag me to Azkaban with you if you decide to morons."

"Got it," thug two grunted.

"Good," Draco nodded. "Go on. Clear off."

"Yeah," thug three grunted.

The three idiots filed out of the library. Draco sighed and rolled his eyes at them and stood up. He walked to the window. Evanna Redway. He scowled. From the moment he met her, she has been nothing but grief. She was depressing and boring, dull and dreary. When she wasn't being tiresome, she was being a complete bitch.

Draco remembered the shock and embarrassment of getting punched in the face in front of his parents. He scowled. He was going to make her regret this.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Draco gripped the folder angrily, the emblem of St. Mungo's clearly emblazoned on the front. Draco's eyes were ridden with surprise and he couldn't keep his hands from shaking as he stared down at the contents of the folder. Sebastian stood near the window, his hands folded over his chest. He had found out the information early that morning. He had his doubts about the whole situation and only the irrefutable information in front of him made him believe. In Sebastian's mind, the information shouldn't really be Draco's business. The only reason that Sebastian ever gave the information to him was that he knew he would be exceedingly interested. Draco took in the other information given by Sebastian with a mixture of annoyance, shock, and anger.

Sebastian watched as Draco threw aside the folder and glared out the window. Blaise picked up the folder and looked in. His eyes grew wide as he pored over the contents. Draco glanced at Sebastian with a critical eye. Sebastian glanced back blankly.

"Why did you show me this, Sebastian?" Draco asked.

Sebastian closed his eyes. "Don't tell me you're not the least bit interested in this information."

"If you're thinking that I'll let up on her just because of this, you're wrong," Draco informed, plunging his hands into his pockets. "She did what she did and she has to be made to pay." Draco then walked to the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Blaise asked, looking towards the door.

"I have some business to take care of," Draco answered.

Sebastian bit back a sigh and looked out the window. Draco Malfoy is such a child.

* * *

Evanna sat staring at the handkerchief in her hand. It was pristinely white with the letters "SC" was monogrammed on one corner. It smelled fresh and incredible, like a fresh out of the shower scent. It was intoxicating to Evanna and she could not put the thing down all morning. It was ridiculous and made no sense but Evanna just found herself staring at the handkerchief. If she had stared any harder at it, she was sure she would have burned a hole through it.

"Hi, Evanna!!"

Evanna looked up to find Astoria bounce into a seat and laugh girlishly.

"Hi, Astoria," Evanna smiled. "Thanks for meeting me."

"Sorry I'm late," Astoria grinned. "My idiot sister wanted to borrow my brand new stiletto boots but I know she'll just get vomit all over it so I had to hide it from her. I don't think she'll find it unless of course she roots around in the owl feces. But I don't think she'll do that."

"It's alright," Evanna laughed. "I haven't been waiting for too long."

"I heard about that amazing scandal, Evanna," Astoria leaned in conspiratorially. "Everyone's talking about it. The Malfoy family's mortified. It's actually quite funny. What made you do it?"

"I just got tired of all the nonsense in my life," Evanna sighed. "I suppose I just snapped."

"That's incredible! I wish I could punch someone in the face. That'll be exhilarating," Astoria claimed.

"It was, actually," Evanna giggled, amused.

"But where are you living now?" Astoria asked and then gasped. "You're not homeless, are you?"

"No, I'm not," Evanna shook her head. "I'm living with my brother."

"Brother?!" Astoria gasped louder. "But you don't have a brother, do you?"

"I have a half brother," Evanna confirmed. "We work very hard. We clean people's manors and stuff, you know."

"I can clean, too!" Astoria announced. "I should help you two sometime!"

"I don't think your parents will appreciate that."

"They're too busy yelling at Daphne for being a right awful bitch," Astoria said and Evanna laughed. "Ooh, this is all so interesting! I feel like I'm reading a novel but I'm not. I'm actually more of watching the novel which is strange because you don't watch novels because if you do, well, you wouldn't know what's going on, would you?"

"I suppose," Evanna chuckled. "Astoria, I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"Sure, ask me anything you like."

"What do you know about someone named Sebastian Cardonell?"

"Sebastian Cardonell?" Astoria repeated and then put on a thinking face. "Well, I do know that he's one of Draco Malfoy's closest friends. His family owns and manages retail stores and such. His parents didn't send him to Hogwarts like the rest of us. His parents were a bit protective. He is the only heir of the Cardonell fortune, after all. He was home schooled. His parents hired tutors for him. I believe Sebastian became very introverted because of it.

"But there's one person whom he absolutely adores and loves," Astoria said, causing him Evanna to look up from the handkerchief. "Camellia Gray was his childhood friend. She played with him frequently when they were children, I heard. I also heard that Sebastian is absolutely in love with her but he's never said anything. He's never confessed. I heard that he doesn't care for anybody at all aside from Camellia. But she's not in England anymore. She and her parents moved to France. Their company merged with a French company and they moved there. I heard Sebastian's been extra introverted because he misses her. Tragic, don't you think?"

"Yes, tragic," Evanna agreed, looking back down at the handkerchief.

He already loved someone else. The information affected her more than she thought it would. Evanna didn't know very much about this Sebastian Cardonell but she felt impeccably drawn to him. He had a gentle and kind spirit. Even though he hadn't said anything nice to her or about her, his kind eyes and the warmth he exuded drew her to him. All she could think about was the passion when he played the piano, the gentle amazing blue eyes, the way he saved her from Pansy and her horde of bitches, and the heart melting smile he had.

Evanna stared at the handkerchief. SC. He had helped her. He loved someone else. She couldn't get him out of her head.

* * *

"Uh… Grayson, are you sure about this?" Evanna asked, looking up uncertainly and nervously.

"Yup, we were called here to clean the place," Grayson nodded, leading Evanna in. "They told us they'd pay us an awful lot of money. I had to take it."

"Oh."

"Look, Evie, if you feel uncomfortable being here, you can go home," Grayson said, looking over his shoulder.

"No! Never!" Evanna exclaimed. "I promised you I'd help you and that's exactly what I'm going to do! Got it?!"

"Alright, alright, no need to yell," Grayson laughed.

Evanna never thought she'd set foot on Astrum Society ever again. The club that's sole function was to gather rich people together so they can talk about how rich they are nauseated her from the beginning. She hated sitting around the club, listening to the adults tell her parents how perfectly lovely she was. She hated walking around the club, listening to the boys try win her over with their perceived good looks and charm. Her upchuck reflexes were being reawakened as she walked through the halls with her brother. The patrons of the club did a double take as they saw her. They recognized her, of course. Her parents dragged her to the club often enough. But they stared openly at the drab clothing she was wearing and the mop and sponges she was toting around.

Evanna sighed. She had an overpowering feeling that it'll be one of the longest afternoons in her life. Evanna dragged her cleaning supplies and began to mop down the marble floors. Her thoughts were filled with only one person. She couldn't get the person out of her mind and it was the strangest thing to her. She didn't know him all that well. She hasn't even had a proper conversation with the man. Yet the only thing she could think of was his smile and his eyes. Sebastian Cardonell.

Evanna started to hear footsteps in the empty hall. She looked up suddenly, a ball of fright crawling into her stomach. The footsteps stopped. She looked around fearfully. "Is anybody there?" she called.

The footsteps stopped. The silence filled Evanna's ears. She looked at the closed doors around her. They looked even more menacing to her when she was alone. The footsteps started up again. Evanna's stomach lurched. She dropped her mop which crashed to the floor with a deafening clash. She walked a few feet, her eyes burning into empty space, straining to see something that quite possibly wasn't there. Her heart was beating uncontrollably and she felt like her stomach was going to jump to her throat.

Then it was silent. She heard nothing for a long while. She stood rooted to one spot, not moving, straining to hear anything else. The footsteps had stopped and the hall was empty. Perhaps she was only hearing things. She can't really be that freaked out. It was only a hallway and she was only cleaning. Besides, it was the middle of the day. What could possibly happen? Evanna was being silly.

She sighed and turned around to pick up her mop. Suddenly, she was grabbed around the waist and she tried to scream but a hand clamped around her mouth. Another pair of hands grabbed her arms to stop her from thrashing around. The three men forced her down to the floor and loomed over her, their faces seeming like devils themselves. Fright exploded through Evanna as she lay on the floor, watching the three men above her smirk at her. They told her horrible things. They said they'd do all sorts of things she'd only heard about. She tried to scream but the hand clamped around her mouth only allowed her to make faint whimpering sounds. They were guffawing evilly at her.

Evanna started crying. Why was this happening? What had she done to deserve this? Her heart was beating loudly and she started crying harder as the men firmly placed her hands over her head and held down her legs to keep her from struggling. She was defenseless. Why was this happening? Her heart pounded furiously. The only thing she could hear were the men's snickering who were planning terrible things for her. Evanna wanted to disappear. She didn't want to experience this atrocity. Why her? Why?

"What are you doing?"

The men suddenly stopped snickering, stopped moving altogether at the sound of the voice. Evanna opened her eyes. Sebastian stood a few feet away, one hand in his pocket, the other hand holding a violin. He had a look of faint annoyance in his eyes as he stared at the scene with aggravation. He walked up them, an imposing air in his gait. He scowled down at the three men.

"Is this any way to treat a lady?" he asked evenly.

"Uh…"

"You," Sebastian said to Evanna. "Are you hurt?"

"I… I…" Evanna stammered. She was still too shocked and scared to say anything intelligent.

Sebastian eyed the three roguish looking men with annoyance. "What are you three still doing here?" he asked.

"But we were ordered to-ˮ

"I don't care what you were ordered to do," Sebastian interrupted. "I said for you three to clear off. Now!"

The three looked at each other doubtfully. Slowly, they let go of Evanna and ran from the scene. Sebastian watched them lumber away, a scowl on his face. Draco was going too far, he thought. He heard a muffled sob from behind him and he turned around to find Evanna Redway attempting to hide her tears, sniffling. She must have been frightened, Sebastian thought.

"They're gone," Sebastian pointed out, turning his back. "You should get up from the floor now."

"Sebastian," Evanna whispered. "I… thank you…"

"I didn't do it for you," Sebastian answered tonelessly. "I couldn't play the violin in peace from all that racket."

"But you've saved me twice," she insisted.

"I don't do anything that doesn't benefit me. I did those things because I stood to gain something from it. You just happened to be in the middle of it," Sebastian said and began to walk away. "I have no real interest in the lives of other people."

* * *

Draco stood in a darkened corner. He had watched the scene unfold. He had watched his three thugs grab Evanna and frighten her just as they were ordered. Draco had watched Sebastian emerge from one of the rooms, his violin in his hand. He watched Sebastian watch the scene with annoyance and then proceed to break up the dilemma.

Draco now stood watching Sebastian walk away. He turned from Sebastian's back to Evanna's face. It was lined with tears and he felt the tiniest twinge of guilt for causing it. But then he looked at her eyes. They were filled with adoration. Draco's eyes widened at the sight of it. She was watching Sebastian walk away with adoration. Draco watched her pine away for him and his hands balled into fists.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Evanna was waiting. Astoria was late again. She wondered if she was wrestling another item of clothing away from Daphne. It was funny how Daphne and Astoria seemed to fight all the time. Evanna knew she would absolutely love it if she had a sister. Sometimes she dearly wished that she did.

"Evanna!! It's a disaster!!"

Astoria suddenly appeared in front of Evanna, scaring her half to death. Astoria's eyes were huge and she was breathing exceedingly hard. Something had apparently happened.

"Why, hello Astoria," Evanna answered sarcastically. "I'm just fine, thanks for asking."

"Never mind that!" Astoria bounced agitatedly. "It's a disaster! An absolute disaster! It's like the world is ending. Well, perhaps not quite so extreme but it's still a catastrophe!"

"Will you tell me what's going on?" Evanna asked with a sigh.

"Look at this!" Astoria handed her the latest issue of Witch Weekly.

Evanna sighed and began reading the article given to her. "Evanna Redway, heiress to the Redway fortune," Evanna scoffed, "has renounced her name, her inheritance, and her engagement to Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy fortune. But as if this isn't scandalous enough, her former fiancé claims that the engagement was dissolved because… Miss Evanna is… pregnant!!"

* * *

Draco sat in one of the plush chairs in the Astrum Society lounge room, looking smug. Blaise was chatting up a random girl who was seated nearby. Sebastian had pages of music sheet laid out in front of him and was marking here and there on it. Draco watched all of them condescendingly. Eventually, Blaise got tired of the girl and moved away from her. He plopped down into a chair near Draco and Sebastian and sighed.

"It's too quiet," Blaise commented. "It's boring."

"Don't worry yourself, Blaise," Draco said. "We shall all be entertained soon enough, I expect."

Sebastian looked up from his music sheets and glanced at Draco. "What prank did you pull on Evanna Redway now, Draco?" he asked.

"Why?" Draco questioned, throwing Sebastian a disgruntled look. "You want to save her again?"

"Your pranks are childish and stupid," Sebastian pointed out.

"If you're not going to help, then just stay out of it," Draco argued. Sebastian sighed and turned back to his music sheet.

"Evanna, will you calm down please?" a high and desperately frightened voice came from outside the room. "This won't solve anything. Evanna!"

Draco, Sebastian, and Blaise exchanged curious looks. The door to the lounge exploded open. Evanna stomped inside, the angriest scowl on her face. Blaise stared openly and sank into his chair a little in fright. Sebastian only raised an eyebrow. Draco only chuckled and rose to his feet lazily. Evanna's eyes turned on him instantly. That cretin, she thought menacingly, scowling at him.

"Well, well, well," Draco began arrogantly, "Evanna. Come to beg for my forgiveness?"

Evanna answered by reeling back her fist and lunging forward to punch Draco in the face. He dropped to the floor, his hand on his assaulted cheek. Astoria was peeking from between her fingers. Blaise's jaw had dropped as he stared at Evanna. Sebastian watched Draco scowl on the floor, an amused grin on his face. Draco was watching Evanna huff and puff, her eyes on fire with annoyance and anger.

"You… you…" Draco stammered.

"I am not pregnant, you stupid infantile idiot!!" Evanna yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at Draco. "I don't care if you're bored with your own life but take your filthy nose out of mine!"

Evanna turned, her nose in the air, and sailed out the door. Astoria followed her out, giggling maniacally. Draco glared at the closed door and felt around his bruised cheek for potential blood. Thankfully, there was none and he moved to get up.

"I don't suppose she'll be begging for forgiveness any time soon," Sebastian pointed out, amused as he watched Draco get up to his feet. Draco threw him an annoyed look.

"Merlin's beard, that girl can punch," Blaise exclaimed. "I'd hate to be at the receiving end of that fury."

"You know what, boys?" Draco asked, turning back to Sebastian and Blaise with a self-satisfied smirk. "I think she fancies me."

"Are you serious?" Sebastian asked, laughing as he turned back to his music sheets.

"Think about it, gentlemen," Draco said, putting on his most arrogant expression. "She came all the way here to declare to me that she isn't pregnant. It's as if she didn't want to sully her own purity in my eyes. It's quite adorable, actually."

"Mate, she just decked you in the face," Blaise reminded him.

"Well, of course she needed to leave with her dignity. It's understandable why she would punch me," Draco chuckled to himself, rubbing his chin meditatively. "Naughty little minx."

Sebastian and Blaise exchanged looks. They watched Draco stare pensively out the window. He was gone, far gone in his delusions. Not even the best logic or the most convincing rhetoric can coax him out of it. Sebastian was already predicting the damage he'll cause. Blaise was already thinking of revving up his camera to capture the entire thing. Draco was only thinking of how it was possible he didn't see it before. Evanna Redway fancied him!

* * *

Evanna cursed the windows over and over again. Why do manors have to have so many windows? Why do manors have to have such tall windows? Evanna wiped the windows down in an up and down motion. She felt as if her arms were going to fall off anytime soon. She switched the rag to her left hand and let her right arm drop limply. She found she got even less headway in cleaning. Damn, damn, damn, she thought to herself.

Her morning had already been ruined. As soon as she got home from punching Draco, Grayson started hysterically yelling at her and demanding explanations and demanding to know who it was he was going to have to kill. He had read the article in the Witch Weekly and was at that point on the brink of insanity. Evanna supposed the thought of his beloved younger sister pregnant out of wedlock and still straining herself cleaning and working became too much for him. Evanna had to explain that it was all just some lame joke by some infantile individual. Grayson has calmed down considerably and both of them headed to Cardonell Manor again to clean the place again. Though Evanna had started to like cleaning as it gave her some time to think, she was cursing the infinite number of windows the Cardonell Manor had.

Sebastian was on his way to the garden, his hands plunged into his pockets. Not even the smoothest sounds of the piano could calm down his turbulent thoughts. Lately, all he seemed to think about was Camellia. He had always considered himself in love with her. He has always told her so but he had started feeling uneasy. It's as if that wasn't enough anymore. He sighed.

Then he saw her. She was reaching upwards, trying to clean the windows as best as she could. She had set other rags cleaning other windows magically. Sebastian thought that Evanna was strange. What kind of girl would give up the lap of luxury and the easy life to live with her poor half brother and work every day? Sebastian was toying with the notion that perhaps Evanna might really be mad. He thought back to the way she punched Draco earlier that day. A smile crept across his face. Insane or otherwise, she was still exceptionally entertaining. Sebastian changed course and ambled toward her.

"You're working especially hard," Sebastian commented.

Evanna's heart leaped at the sound of the voice. She still didn't understand how she could react so weakly to such a voice. She had to admit Sebastian's voice was reminiscent of smooth golden honey but it wasn't just his voice. His eyes face and entire presence left her breathless. It was the most exquisite kind of torture she had ever endured.

"Well, this is my job," Evanna laughed uncomfortably, turning back to the window and cleaning harder knowing that he was watching.

Sebastian watched her vigorous scrubbing. "Do you want to take a short break?" he asked.

Evanna paused. "What?"

"I was going to take a stroll through the garden," Sebastian said. "It's a nice day and I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me. Walking alone is rather depressing and it seems like you could use a break."

And so Evanna dropped her rags and followed Sebastian out to the garden. The Cardonell garden was filled with strong oaks and fir trees, flowers and shrubbery. It was as if it was a radiant little piece of forest. Evanna walked somewhat nervously next to Sebastian in silence. She would like nothing better than to have a nice conversation with him but it seems like any topic she thought of was either stupid or boring. Sebastian walked calmly beside her, completely and utterly at ease. Evanna wondered how he could be so stoic and calm about everything yet keep her so incredibly entranced.

"Will you answer me a question?" Sebastian asked suddenly.

"Of course," Evanna answered.

"I was just wondering," Sebastian began, "why a girl like you who had everything would suddenly give all of it up. Everyone thought you were the absolute best. You were going to have an easy life with the Malfoys. You gave everything up. It doesn't seem logical."

"That's because it isn't," Evanna said confidently, making Sebastian glance over at her in surprise. "The decisions I made that's led me to where I am right now has all been based solely on what I felt, how I felt. It had nothing to do with logic or sense at all."

"Then they don't seem like wise decisions at all," Sebastian argued. "You have a hard life now. In my opinion, I think you should have just been content with your situation previously."

"I'm sorry, but unless you've lived my life, you really are in no place to tell me what I should or should not do," Evanna said as politely as she could. "Besides, I like the life I live now."

"You like cleaning rich people's manors and the Astrum Society and taking insults from people you don't even know?" Sebastian asked doubtfully.

"Of course not," Evanna answered. "But I like spending time with my brother and I like earning my own money. There's a sense of accomplishment in earning your own income, a sense of self worth. Plus, I actually like cleaning and doing things with my hands."

Sebastian glanced at her. That was surprisingly deep, he thought. Perhaps she isn't just a thoughtless heiress who only wants to make a scene.

"Can I ask you a possibly personal question?" Sebastian asked. "It's alright if you had rather not."

Evanna glanced at him, her heart suddenly pounding a bit faster. "No, I don't mind," she answered. "Go ahead."

"What is love to you?"

Evanna was exceedingly taken aback by the question. It was an extremely broad topic to be answered by mere short sentences. She was silent for a long while, thinking. "Well, it's no doubt one of the strongest emotions in the world."

How cliché, Sebastian thought bitterly to himself.

"I think it's the most important thing in the world," Evanna added. "It's priceless. To be loved by someone is to receive the most precious and valuable gift in the world. Because to be in love transcends everything else in this world. It's beyond words or actions. You can't explain it. It's like the wind. You can't see it, you can't taste it, but you feel it. And just like the wind, it's fleeting. That's why I believe once you have it, you should hold on to it with both hands, never daring to let go. You have to be willing to do anything for the one you love. You have to be able to give them anything, tell them anything, cherish without expecting anything in return, and follow them around the world without a second thought. I believe that because you cannot consider yourself truly in love unless you think of the other person before yourself. I believe that once you've found love, nothing else should matter."

Evanna gave Sebastian a sweet smile and walked onto the path without him, leaving him to absorb her words. Sebastian watched her slender frame, her words still ringing in his ears. Once you've found love, you should hold on to it with both hands? Think of the other person before yourself? Both were strange concepts to Sebastian. He had never had to hold on to anything with all his strength because the rich don't realize just how valuable everything is. And he's never thought of another person before himself because he was a spoiled only child. Was this what he needed to do to prove to himself and to Camellia that he was in love? Follow around the world without a second thought? That's an interesting notion, Sebastian mused, following after Evanna. She was a strange girl indeed.

* * *

Evanna mopped the west end of Astrum Society, humming to herself and enjoying the peace and beauty of the day. Sebastian had thanked her whole heartedly the day before for talking to him so openly. The comment put Evanna in high spirits and it was still so until the next morning when she was cleaning Astrum's halls. Thoughts of Sebastian filled her head. His charming smile, his intoxicating eyes, his wonderful voice. It seemed like everything about Sebastian was like an addicting drug to her. Thoughts of him smiling sent bubbles through her stomach and she couldn't help but smile girlishly.

"Sebastian, that idiot," Evanna heard the annoying voice of Draco Malfoy proclaim. It seemed like he was walking with someone as Evanna heard two pairs of footsteps.

"I can't believe he actually went to France," Blaise agreed.

France? Evanna's stomach dropped unexpectedly.

"I didn't know Camellia was that important to him," Draco sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised if he comes back to England engaged to her."

"Me neither, mate," Blaise agreed and the two of them laughed.

Evanna's mop stilled. Sebastian went to France to go after Camellia Gray. She knew that he might have loved her but she never grasped how much. In fact, she wished that he might not have loved her all that much and perhaps he would forget about her easily. She felt dread pool thickly in her stomach. He might very well come back to England an engaged man and then where would she be? She had missed her chance. That much was apparent. Evanna knew she should be happy for Sebastian. Everyone in the world deserved to be happy. If this Camellia Gray made Sebastian happy then he should be with her and Evanna should be happy that Sebastian is happy. Then why did she feel as if she had lost something quite valuable to her? Something she'd never find again.

"Hey, you!"

Evanna turned and found Draco's leering face lumbering toward her, arrogance spilling from his form in waves. Evanna watched him approach but felt as if she didn't see it. She looked at Draco's face but didn't see him. Heartbreak was a monstrous beast.

"Meet me at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour in Diagon Alley at four PM today," Draco commanded to a numb Evanna. "Don't be late or else you're dead."

Draco smirked widely at her and sauntered away arrogantly. Blaise had on a completely amused grin as he followed Draco. Evanna barely heard Draco. She felt numb. Sebastian Cardonell had left England to go after the woman he loved and she stood there, mopping floors.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Grayson watched his sister curiously. She had been acting strangely ever since they returned from Astrum Society. She was looking out the window, watching the rain cascade down the window panes. Grayson watched as Evanna stirred her ice cream round and round, making it into soup. Grayson furrowed his brow. Girls are so moody, he decided. What made him think his sister would be any different? Evanna heaved a huge shuddering sigh and Grayson raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's the matter, Evie?" he asked. "You've been sighing every two minutes for the past hour."

"I'm fine," Evanna sighed, continuing to stir her ice cream soup.

Grayson sighed and stood up. "Alright, whatever you say," he sighed, standing up and picking up his empty bowl. "I'm going to start supper. It's six o'clock."

"Okay."

Evanna stared down at her soupy ice cream. Ice cream. Evanna frowned down at the liquid mixture. She felt as if she was forgetting something. What was it? She did their laundry the day before. She bought the food Grayson told her to buy. What the hell was she forgetting? The rain pounded harder on the window panes and Evanna looked out the window, puzzled. Grayson looked up from chopping carrots.

"I can't believe it's raining this hard," he commented. "I'd hate to be out there."

Out there? Evanna mused and let her thoughts run away from her. Evanna thought of the random people outside, running from the torrential rain. Evanna thought of the stalls and cart vendors at Diagon Alley. It must be absolutely horrible to have to sit out there in the rain. Then Evanna's eyes widened and she stood up suddenly. No, she thought, he can't still be there!

Grayson glanced over at her. "Are you alright?" he asked. "You're acting… odd."

"Grayson, what time is it?" Evanna demanded.

"It's six thirty," Grayson answered. "Why?"

"That buffoon!" Evanna declared, flying off to get an umbrella. "He can't still be there. He can't be that much of an idiot."

"Excuse me but what the hell are you bloody talking about?" Grayson asked, watching his sister pull on a raincoat. "And where do you think you're going? Do you know how hard it's raining?!"

"I've got to go see something," Evanna said. "Don't worry about me, okay?"

"But-ˮ

But it was already too late. Evanna had Apparated away. Grayson's shoulders drooped and he sighed. "I'm going to die early because of that girl," he muttered to himself and went back to his carrots.

* * *

Evanna Disapparated in the middle of Diagon Alley. She opened her umbrella before she could get too soaking wet. After which she took off running to the direction of the ice cream parlour. That stupid Malfoy, she thought. There is no way that he would still be waiting for her. Even he couldn't be that infantile and stupid. She ran through the streets and alleyways, rainwater sloshing around her feet. She approached Florean Fortescue's, her eyes straining to see Draco's lean frame. She slowed to a stop, watching a hunched over person, sitting dejectedly on the sidewalk, drenched.

"No way," Evanna whispered to herself as she watched Draco just sit there.

Why the hell would he sit out in the rain? Evanna watched him curiously, walking up to him slowly. Is he really that idiotic? He was soaking wet, he was probably freezing but he still insisted on sitting on the curb waiting for someone that might never come. He must be mentally incapacitated. Evanna got the overwhelming feeling that Draco sitting there looking like a sad drenched puppy was all her fault. The feeling annoyed her. He must be feeling awful, she decided. She was standing directly in front of him and he still didn't look up. Evanna moved her umbrella over his head. Draco finally looked up at her. Evanna felt a twinge of remorse for him. He looked like his puppy just died. His face was absolutely scarlet.

"Where the hell have you been?!!" Draco started to yell, surging to his feet and hitting the top of the umbrella with his head. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"What are you talking about?" Evanna yelled back."And how dare you yell at me?"

"I've been waiting here for two and half hours, you moron!!"

"You have?" Evanna blinked at him. "Why would you bloody do that anyway?"

"Why do you think?!" Draco argued.

"I never agreed to meet you out here, you git!" Evanna yelled as Draco put a hand to his face and his breathing became raggedy. "Don't make this out to be my fault."

"You…"

Before Draco could finish his sentence, he lurched forward and collapsed into a thoroughly shocked Evanna. "What do you think you're doing, you pervert!" Evanna attempted to push him away and her hand brushed against his forehead and she found him burning up. "Draco, you idiot, you're sick!"

"And… who's fault do you think that is?" he gasped.

Evanna rolled her eyes. "Come on, you juvenile jerk, we've got to get you home."

Evanna took his arm and as much as she detested it (and she really detested it) she Apparated back to the Malfoy Manor. She dragged him into his room and sat him down in a chair. She took a look at Draco as he sat huffing on the chair. He was soaking wet.

"You need to change your clothes," Evanna said, crossing the room towards his wardrobe.

"Evidently," Draco answered, shrugging off his jacket.

Evanna threw him a glare as she pulled out a pair of pajamas for him. As she walked back towards him, she contemplated briefly the benefits of just killing the vermin and doing the world a huge favor. But she restrained herself. She knew Grayson would have a heart attack if his beloved little sister were sent to Azkaban. She kneeled in front of a feverish Draco and reached for the buttons of his shirt. He grabbed her hand.

"I can do it myself," he replied stubbornly.

"Fine," Evanna said, standing up and moving away from him.

"Turn around," Draco commanded further, "and don't look at me."

"I beg your pardon!" Evanna exclaimed, turning to face the wall angrily. "What kind of girl do you take me for?"

"Don't peek."

Evanna scoffed and stared straight ahead at the empty wall. She heard wet clothes slop to the floor and she involuntarily blushed at the thought that a man was standing naked behind her. Unclean, unclean, unclean, she thought fiercely to herself as she forced the thoughts out of her head. Then she heard the rustling of cloth and thanked Merlin that the man was getting dressed. Why hadn't she just stepped out into the hall? She must be going insane. And what the hell was she doing staying at the Malfoy Manor? What did she hope to accomplish there?

"I'm done," Draco said behind her.

Evanna looked around and found him easing under the covers of his bed. "Great," she replied. "Well, I'm going to leave now."

"You can't leave!" Draco exclaimed, getting agitated. "This is your fault! You have to nurse me!"

"My fault?" Evanna argued. "I didn't ask you to wait two and a half hours for me!"

"But I did, didn't I? So the least you can…" Draco trailed off and nearly collapsed off the edge of his bed.

Evanna rushed to him and tucked him back under the covers. He was really burning up. She guessed he must have had a low immune system to begin with. The idiot probably thought he was too good for Vitamin C.

"Stay in bed, you idiot," she told him. "Like it or not, you're sick."

"Don't leave me, Evanna," Draco went on feverishly. "You… can't…"

Evanna stared down at him. She was sure it was the fever talking. Draco Malfoy actually sounded sincere and sad. It was as if she left her, he would be all alone in the world. Evanna tried to steel herself against him but she couldn't force herself to turn away coldly. He had been waiting two and a half hours for her in the rain. As much as she denied it, she felt a shred of responsibility. He was waiting for her. He was sick because of her.

"Fine," Evanna answered. "I'll stay for a while. Now stay here. I'm going to make you some soup. If you get out of that bed, I'll shave your hair off."

Draco listened to the door close. Evanna Redway. She's a strange one. She was filled with so many inconsistencies and contradictions, Draco could barely keep up. She could be lovely like a blooming rose, radiant and beautiful yet she could be like a venomous like a snake. She could be polite and refined yet she could be violent and abrasive. Evanna was the best, the absolute best, at everything a pure blood woman ought to be the best at. However, she threw all of it away with both hands in pursuit of a mediocre life with that mediocre half blood brother of her.

It sickened Draco to think how a cultured lady like Evanna could live a nearly savage lifestyle. But then he would think of the smile that he only rarely sees and just like that he would smile as well. Draco didn't understand himself. He knew that he should be furious that Evanna exposed his affair with Pansy Parkinson, punched him in front of his friends and parents, slapped his mother, yelled at his parents, and got him in a shit load of trouble with his parents. But he wasn't. He admired her more for it. He felt his ears prick whenever someone mentioned her name. He felt unexplainable anger and animosity towards anybody who spoke ill of her. Draco wondered if it was possible… if it was actually possible that he-ʺ

"Alright, sit up," Evanna said as she entered the room again. "I've made you some soup. It's not all that great. It's from a can. I didn't have time to make you some from scratch so it's a little mediocre."

"It's fine. I'll eat it," Draco answered, taking the tray with the bowl of soup from her, "because you prepared it."

Evanna watched him slurp up the soup hungrily and looked as if he was actually savoring it. He was acting weird. "You don't have to act so grateful," she replied. "It's only canned soup."

After Draco finished the soup, he tried to settle down comfortably into his sheets. But he didn't drift off to sleep. He watched Evanna gather up his bowl and put the tray onto a nearby table. He watched her gather up his soaking wet clothes and wring them dry in his bathroom. Evanna looked over at him and walked towards him. She arranged his covers so that he would be comfortable. She took a look at his face and frowned.

"I think I should go," she said. "You'd sleep better if I'm not here."

"NO!" Draco exclaimed, grabbing her wrist. "I wanted to spend the afternoon with you! Don't leave! You can't!"

Evanna stared down at him in surprise. Why was he so adamant about her staying? "Don't yell like that!" she commanded. "You're sick. Now go to sleep."

"No," he replied stubbornly.

"You'll never get better if you don't get some rest."

"If I went to sleep," Draco began to say in a soft voice that took Evanna completely by surprise, "you'd go home. Then I would have wasted the entire afternoon. So… I'll stay awake."

Evanna watched him wheeze and pant. Why was he doing this? Surely he really didn't want to spend the entire afternoon and evening with her. Why would he? He should hate her for all that she's done. He sent those three thugs after her and said all those lies about her being pregnant. To a sane person, those sure seemed like the actions of an enemy. Then why did he tell her to meet him at the ice cream parlour? And why was he insisting that she stay with him? Evanna didn't understand him at all.

Evanna felt Draco's grip on her wrist loosen. He finally fell asleep despite the fact that he desperately wanted to stay awake. He's a strange one. Evanna grabbed a face towel and wiped away some of the sweat that had beaded on his forehead. Funny, she thought, he actually looked quite handsome when he was quiet. He looked peaceful and serene. He looked much better when rubbish wasn't spewing out of his mouth. Evanna watched him sleep for a while. Why couldn't he be less rude? And why on earth did he insist that she stay? She sighed and stood up. She would have preferred the line between them clearly drawn.

* * *

Draco's eyes fluttered open and his eyes drifted to the window. The stars twinkled annoyingly in the night sky. It was night time? He looked to the other side of his bed to the chair that Evanna sat in a few hours ago while looking after him. It was empty. Draco took a look at the clock. It was two in the morning. She surely would have gone home already. There was no reason for her to stay. Why would she? She hated him. He sat up slowly in his bed and put a hand to his forehead. His fever had gone down. Perhaps all he really needed was a good nap. Still… He wished he hadn't fallen asleep. When would he get another chance to spend some time with Evanna?

Draco grabbed his wand and swished it. The room was flooded with light. As he stood up, something caught his eye. There, on the sofa a short distance away from his bed, Evanna Redway lay sleeping. Draco's eyes widened as he watched her sleep. She stayed? She really stayed? Then slowly, a smile crept onto Draco's face. She never fails to surprise me, he thought.

As if sensing that someone was watching her, Evanna started to stir. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Then she noticed that Draco was standing up and watching her.

"Draco?" she asked groggily. "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me," Draco rolled his eyes. "Who are you expecting? The Minister of Magic?"

"I see you're feeling better," Evanna answered, getting to her feet.

"You didn't go home," Draco stated. "Why?"

"Apart from the fact that you were yelling for me to stay?" Evanna asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "I suppose… I felt some shred of responsibility for your illness earlier."

"Well, you should."

Evanna glared and then sighed. "Hey, I want to ask you something," she began. "I was wondering if you wanted to spend a day with me since today ended in failure. I mean, it's alright if you don't want to. It was just an idea. I just… Why are you smiling like that?"

Evanna looked up at Draco's beaming face curiously. "Nothing," he said with a smirk and swept down and placed a kiss on her lips.

Evanna was stunned by the move. She stood stock still for a while, staring up at Draco's openly grinning face. He. Just. Kissed. Her. Evanna's entire face turned beet red. Then Evanna squealed and ran from him to the other side of the room, her eyes wide with consternation.

"Oh my God!" Evanna shrieked, pointing a finger at him. "You kissed me! What the hell?!!! Stay away from me!!"

Draco's smirk widened. "Aw, but you won't be able to look after me all the way over there,"he teased.

"SHUT UP!!!!!" Evanna yelled. "You're not sick anymore. You're just fine!"

"Ohhhh, I think the fever's coming back," Draco feigned, staggering over to her. "I think I have a disease."

"The Pervert Disease!"

"It's incurable," Draco leered, lumbering over towards her. "I suppose you'll have to take care of me for the rest of your life."

"NEVER!!!"


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Pansy was irritated. She walked through the halls of Astrum Society, fuming to herself. Her followers were nowhere to be found. Hence, she had nobody to torture and amuse herself with. To add insult to injury, she hasn't seen Draco in weeks. Where was that boy hiding? Merlin, she was bored. There she was, young, beautiful, and rich and she was deathly bored. There was something wrong with that picture. She walked toward the society's lounge, determined, to find Draco and command him to entertain her. Pansy had her hand on the doorknob of the lounge when she heard Draco's laughter from the inside.

"Would you stop laughing randomly?" Blaise asked agitatedly. "It's starting to scare me."

"Oh, Zabini, if you only knew the kind of night I had, you'd understand," Draco sighed. Pansy's eyebrow rose as she heard this.

"Why?" Blaise asked, suddenly intrigued. "What happened with Evanna?"

Evanna? Pansy's eyes narrowed at the name. He spent the night with Miss Perfect? It was enough to make Pansy see red.

"I waited over two and a half hours for her, you know," Draco said as if waiting out in the rain was some long cherished memory. "Consequently, I developed quite a fever. It was horrible."

"I don't see why that's a good thing."

"Shut up and let me tell the story," Draco commanded. "Well, of course, she felt responsible for my plight and she took me home and nursed me back to health. She spent the entire night watching over me, the adorable little cherub."

Pansy scowled. Evanna Redway was treading into her territory. Does that little tart know no boundaries? She had clearly been tossed aside by society and she still had the nerve to go after Draco Malfoy? What a conniving little tramp. Pansy's fists clenched. Draco was supposed to be hers. Damn little Evanna Redway.

"Nursing over you, eh?" Blaise asked with a low throaty chuckle. "Sounds like my idea of a good time."

"Oh, but it doesn't end there, my friend," Draco gloated happily.

"There's more?" Blaise laughed. "Do tell."

"She asked me to spend the day with her," Draco said and Pansy practically heard him smirking as she resisted the urge to yell and scream. "Evanna and I have a date tomorrow."

"Malfoy, you sly dog," Blaise chuckled. "I didn't think you had it in you. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Pansy didn't want to hear anymore. She stomped away from the lounge, her foul mood increased tenfold. How dare that Evanna Redway? She had her damn bloody chance with Draco and she mucked it all up. She was a nobody now, a glorified maid. It was no secret that she'd been cleaning Astrum Society as well as a few manors. The humiliation of it all was almost enough to make Pansy retch. She certainly never could clean anything. Yet this dowdy cleaning maid had the gall to spend the night with Draco, her Draco.

Why? Why does Evanna constantly get everything that Pansy wanted? She was adored by the entire pure blood society. Every witch had wanted to be her or be her friend. Ever wizard wanted her for his own. She was dubbed as the best and it infuriated Pansy to the point of insanity. Her level of hate for Evanna was immeasurable. When Evanna went berserk and took on a life of a ridiculous cleaning maid, Pansy was sure that she would be on top, that she would be the best. As she stomped away from the lounge, Draco's words still buzzing around in her head, it became wildly apparent that she was wrong. Damn that Evanna. Damn her!

Pansy headed to the indoor pool area where a great deal of young witches and wizards were loitering. Pansy was going to do something about this. That wretched commoner is going to pay, Pansy thought as she clenched her fists tighter. She's going to wish she had never been born.

* * *

Evanna was halfway through with her cleaning. She only had Astrum's Music Hall left to clean. After that, she could go home and lay on the sofa like a bum. Sitting around the house doing nothing appealed to her greatly. She trudged across one of Astrum's sweeping lawns toward the Music Hall, her cleaning supplies floating lazily behind her. Good thing the hall wasn't that big. She didn't want to spend forever cleaning.

She sighed comfortably to herself and looked up at the sky. She wondered how Sebastian was doing in France. She wondered if he was happy. Evanna suddenly found herself missing him terribly. It made no sense, of course, but he had helped her out when he had no need to and despite the fact that Sebastian had never really said a kind thing to her, she quite fancied him. His smile, in her opinion, would make any girl swoon and would melt anything straight to the ground. The thought was followed with a sigh. But he was in love with another woman. Why are the good ones always taken?

A sudden and searing pain shot at her back and Evanna pitched forward to the ground, landing on her hands and knees. What the hell? A hex? That bloody hurt, she thought. Evanna tried to get to her feet but was met with another shot from a wand. Soon a group of extremely angry looking witches and wizards had congregated around her, throwing insults at her. Evanna looked defiantly at them all. Not this nonsense again, she thought to herself, clutching her stomach painfully.

"What do you want from me?" Evanna yelled at them all.

"You've got some nerve!" one shouted.

A barrage of spells and hexes were shot at Evanna. It landed on her legs, arms, stomach, back, and face. Evanna felt like she was being burned over and over again. She felt like her entire body was on fire. The screaming, the taunting, and the laughing filled her ears. What had she done? She was just trying to live her life? Why are they doing this? She hasn't done anything to them? Why are they doing this?

Tears started to pour from her eyes as the spells and hexes continued to fly toward her and collide with her. She tasted blood and felt cuts and bruises all over her arms and legs. Evanna felt like she was being whipped and the barrage of spells and hexes came so fast in different directions that she couldn't even get to her feet. She was forced to her knees and soon she was curled up on the ground, writhing.

They all lashed out at her and Evanna didn't understand why. The yelling and the defamation filled her ears. The pain exploded and every nerve ending was screaming. She wanted it to end. She wanted it to stop. But the one person who had saved her from the torture and the humiliation was in France. Who was going to save her now? Who was going to look out for her now?

"STOP IT! GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Evanna glanced up. Draco Malfoy pushed through the crowd. Draco grabbed one guy who had just raised his wand by the collar and punched him in the face. He kicked one guy in the stomach. Draco punched another guy in the face and in the stomach and pushed him into another guy, sending the both of them to the ground in a heap. The look in his eyes was feral. The crowd started to back away, frightened.

"But Draco, she-" one tried to explain.

"I don't give a rat's arse what any of you have to say!" Draco yelled at the crowd. "But if you lot don't clear off right now, I swear I'll kill every single one of you."

The vehemence in his voice was enough for them and most of them took off running. Draco scowled angrily at them and then turned his attention to Evanna who was panting and crying on the ground. Draco kneeled down beside her, looking at all her scratches and bruises, and glanced at the blood and gashes. He got angrier watching her in pain. Draco swore to get to the bottom of this and he pulled her into his arms.

"I'm sorry, Evanna," he whispered to her. "I'll get to the bottom of this, I swear."

"W-Why are you-?"

"Shh, don't talk," Draco said, picking her up in his arms. "Everything's going to be alright. Don't worry."

* * *

Draco took Evanna to the Malfoy Manor. He lay her down in her old room, in her old bed. He had tended to her bruises and her cuts and washed her face. Evanna now lay sleeping underneath the covers, her face riddled with cuts and scratches. Draco watched her sleep, his anger simmering. He had just gotten an owl from Blaise with the information regarding what happened to Evanna. Draco didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit. Seeing Evanna hurt and in pain unleashed a monster within him. He would have found caring one jolt for her safety laughable just a few short weeks ago. Now, as she lay there, in pain, all Draco could think about was vengeance.

Draco skimmed one finger on the side of her face, caressing her cheek. He watched her angelic face sleep and he pulled his hand away. He swore from that moment on that he would protect Evanna. With that thought, he Apparated away from the Malfoy Manor.

Draco landed outside the doors of the Astrum Society indoor pool area. He clomped inside. Everyone looked up and watched him stomp through. Draco ignored all of them. Anger was still pounding through his veins. He had his eyes set on a head of raven hair, sitting casually by a group of girls. Draco grabbed Pansy Parkinson's arm and dragged her up from her seat. He proceeded to drag her out of the indoor pool area, a deathlike grip on her arm. Pansy squealed in pain.

"Draco, you're hurting me!" she complained. "Stop this! People are staring."

"I don't give a crap, Pansy," Draco hissed at her, the coldness in his voice making Pansy stare in horror. "You and I need to have a little chat."

"Draco, come on, my arm," Pansy continued to whine.

"Shut up, Pansy!"

His yell ushered the entire pool area into silence. Anxiety and fear were thick in the air as they all watched Draco yank Pansy out of the pool hall. Draco felt all they eyes on him and this only made him angrier. He gripped her tighter and walked out, Pansy whimpering in pain. Draco pushed Pansy against the wall and glared down at her. She looked up at him as her back collided with the wall, a trill of pain shooting through her. Draco looked positively murderous.

"You started that travesty with Evanna, didn't you?" Draco snarled.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Draco punched the wall next to Pansy's head. She jumped and gasped. "Don't give me crap, Pansy," he growled at her. "Explain yourself."

"I didn't do anything wrong," Pansy argued. "I only told the truth. She thinks she's better than all of us. She thinks we're stupid and juvenile. I told everyone so. She deserved everything she deserved. She's not worth your attention, Draco. You shouldn't be spending any time with trash like her."

"Who I spend my time with is none of your bloody business, Pansy," Draco hissed at her. "I'll only say this once, so you better listen. Leave Evanna alone. If you do anything else to her, I swear I'll make you regret it. I'm not shitting around, Pansy. I mean it."

Draco scowled at her one last time and began to walk away. Pansy's fists clenched and she gnashed her teeth. Evanna Redway. Evanna Redway. Evanna Redway. Jealousy exploded in Pansy's head like fireworks and she wanted to scream!

"What do you see in her?!" she yelled after Draco, making him halt. "She's rubbish, Draco! She's not even good enough to spit on! What do you see in her? What does she have that I don't? I've always been here, Draco! Am I not good enough for you?"

"Will you shut up?" Draco spat vehemently. "I've never liked you, Pansy. Get that through your head. You can't possibly measure up to Evanna. You'll never be good enough."

Draco continued to walk away. Pansy shut her eyes, her nails cutting into her palm, drawing blood. She fought the consuming urge to scream. Pansy started trembling, her vision blurring as vehemence pounded through her head. She turned and pounded the wall with both fists. Evanna Redway! This was far from over, she decided. Pansy didn't care how long it took. She would have Draco Malfoy to herself and neither Evanna Redway nor any other whore would get in her way. This wasn't over. It wouldn't be until Pansy got what she wanted. Evanna wants a war. Well, she's got it.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Evanna could hear paper rustling. What the hell was Grayson doing with paper? She groaned and the rustling stopped for a second. As soon as she was lulling herself back to dreamland, the rustling began again. Unable to stand it anymore, Evanna sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked toward the source of the rustling. Her eyes bugged out as she saw Draco sitting in a plush chair, reading the Daily Prophet. Evanna screamed her lungs out.

"What are you doing here in my room, you filthy pervert?!" Evanna demanded. "Get out of my house!"

"Your house?" Draco scoffed. "This isn't your house, stupid. You're in the Malfoy Manor."

"I am?" Evanna asked and looked around. She wasn't indeed in her room. She was in her old gold themed room in the Malfoy Manor. Then she remembered it. She had been attacked spontaneously by those people at Astrum, Draco had defended her, and she had fainted in his arms. Oh Merlin, how embarrassing, she thought.

"Remember now?" Draco asked.

"Yeah," Evanna said uncomfortably. "Thanks for that but… I could have handled it myself!"

Draco scoffed. "Forgive me if I didn't have much confidence in the way you were cowering on the ground," he said with a roll of his eyes.

Evanna narrowed her eyes at him and threw a pillow at his head. Draco caught it easily and threw the pillow back on the bed. He got to his feet and tossed Evanna some clothes.

"In any case, get dressed and get some breakfast," he commanded. "You promised to go on a date with me, remember?"

Evanna watched him leave the room with wide eyes. Oh. My. Merlin. She did offer to spend the day with him. But who said anything about a date. It was strictly not a date. Evanna would not think of it as a date at all. Then again, there was no stopping Draco from thinking whatever he wants. The thought caused Evanna to hide under the covers.

* * *

Some hours later, Draco and Evanna were walking through Diagon Alley together. Evanna was sure to keep a healthy distance between them. She didn't want him to think that she was enjoying their time together. He had saved her and been nice to her a couple of times in the past couple of days but that does not mean that Evanna was going to fall for him. He's a jerk. Still though, she was not feeling as tortured by her situation as she thought she would be. Odd, she thought. Evanna snuck a look at Draco. He had an absolutely smug look on his face as he strutted around. He glanced at her and she quickly looked away. He chuckled at her.

"Why are you walking all the way over there?" Draco asked her.

"I… like walking over here," Evanna said, attempting to hide her slight blush. "It has nothing to do with you."

"Whatever you say," Draco chuckled. "Well, what should we do first?"

"What?"

"You invited me on this date," Draco said, making Evanna wince. "So tell me, what are we going to do first?"

"Well, we could go to Flourish and Blotts to see the newly released books," Evanna suggested.

"That's boring," Draco commented. "Do you want to put me to sleep?"

"We could have brunch."

"I'm not hungry," Draco shook his head. "I don't want to get fat."

Evanna was starting to get annoyed. "We could visit the joke shops," she continued.

"How juvenile," Draco went on. "What are you? Five years old?"

Evanna stopped in her tracks, glaring at his stupid blonde head. "Well, if you're going to be difficult, then you can spend the day by yourself," Evanna grumbled, turning on her heel and walking the opposite direction. "Stupid oaf."

"Hold on there, happy," Draco said, catching up with her and grabbing her arm. "Quality Quidditch Supplies has the new Zeus 3000 broom. I want to try it out."

"Why didn't you just say so in the first place?" Evanna complained as Draco dragged her in the direction of the quidditch store.

"The ridiculous ideas you came up with were entertaining," Draco grinned.

"What?!" Evanna exclaimed.

Draco ignored her complaints and protests and proceeded to drag her into the Quidditch shop. Evanna watched Draco's eyes light up like the starry night sky as he looked around the shop. He then let go of her arm and went to go have a look at all the merchandise. Evanna sighed. Boys and their toys, she thought to herself. What was she doing humoring Draco by this "date"? Sure, she said she was only doing it because she felt bad about making him wait in the rain but it was, by definition, a date. Did Evanna really want deep down want to have a romantic relationship with Draco Malfoy?

Evanna stared at the back of Draco's head. He's such a git. Why would she ever fancy him? Then again, he has been pleasant and charming in his own Malfoy way the past few days. Would it be that bad to actually enjoy their date or whatever they were currently in?

"Ooh, this is cute!" one girl squealed as she grabbed the arm of some bloke.

"It's not as cute as you, babe," the man responded.

Evanna winced. Disgusting. I definitely don't want that with Draco, Evanna grimaced. Ew.

"Evanna, come here," Draco commanded, beckoning her over.

Evanna glared at the command. Perhaps she'll just severely maim the idiot. The thought greatly appealed to her as she walked over to him as he was ogling the new Zeus 3000.

* * *

Minutes later, Draco and Evanna were sitting at Florean Fortescue's having some ice cream.

"You are such a male chauvinist pig!" Evanna exclaimed.

"I pay for your ice cream and that's the thanks I get?" Draco rebuked with a grimace.

"Who told you to pay for my ice cream?" Evanna argued. "I was perfectly capable of paying for my own ice cream, thank you very much."

"We're on a date," Draco reminded her. "On a date, it is the man who pays for the woman's stuff."

"What is this? The Middle Ages?" Evanna demanded. "Plus, which one of us has an actual job?"

"Oh, yes, manual labor is something to be greatly proud of," Draco rolled his eyes.

"At least I'm not leeching off my parents," Evanna scowled.

"Just shut up and eat your bloody ice cream," Draco told her.

Evanna stuck her tongue out at him and shoveled another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. Draco watched her for a long while. She was so irritating. Why couldn't she just be thankful? But then again, even after considering just how bloody irritating the woman was, Draco still considered her the best. She was still beautiful and witty. She was still what a woman should be in Draco's eyes. And he still wanted her despite how much she pissed him off.

"Hey," Draco said.

"What?"

"I want to ask you something," he said.

"Well, ask it," Evanna responded.

"Why'd you do it?" Draco asked seriously. "You threw everything away to be with your half blood half brother and be a cleaning girl. It's a stupid decision."

"You think so?" Evanna asked, putting her spoon down into the bowl. "I think it's the best decision I've ever made. Now I'm living my life how I want to. I say whatever I want to and I do as I please. I don't have to follow anybody's whim but my own. I love the life I'm living now. Grayson is more family to me now than my own mother ever was. I'm thankful for him."

"But now you have to work," Draco said with a pinched face. "It doesn't sound pleasant."

"It's a small price to pay in exchange for all the freedom," Evanna said. "At the end of the day, I wouldn't change a thing."

Draco stared at her for a while. She looked so proud of being working class. It was so stupid it was almost endearing and admirable. In fact, now that Draco looked at her closely, she did seem to have an unexplainable glow about her, a healthy radiance. He watched her spoon another mouthful of ice cream into her mouth. A slight smile formed on his face. Draco didn't know what it was about her. She could look like a hag and still be adorable. She can act like a banshee and still be desirable. She could ignore him and brush him off and Draco would still think she was the best thing that's ever walked through the door. He'd never say so, of course. But he'll think it all he wants.

Evanna looked over at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

Draco shook his head. "No reason," he said. "Come on. Let's go to Astrum."

"Why?"

"Because their tea is better than tea anywhere in this place," Draco answered, pushing up from his seat. "Let's go. Hurry up."

"Alright, I'm hurrying," Evanna said, shuffling to get to her feet.

As she did so, she slipped on some ice cream that had melted on the ground. She yelped and cursed in her head as she waited for her bum to collide with the ground. Draco looked around and without thinking, he reached forward and wrapped an arm around Evanna's waist and pulled her safely into his chest. Evanna found herself staring into his gray eyes. Her heart rate sky rocketed as she felt him hold her tightly to him. She stared straight into his eyes and felt unexplainable butterflies go crazy in her stomach and spread through her chest and make her dizzy. Evanna was aware that she was blushing and the thought that she was blushing just made her blush even more fervently.

Draco marveled at how tiny her waist was. It was like a ballerina's waist. He stared into her eyes that were looking up at him with surprise and confusion. The naiveté in her eyes made her seem so lovely to him and the blush on her cheeks only made his own heart rate pound harder. His eyes slid down her face to her slightly parted lips. A jolt of excitement pierced through him as she watched her lips.

Evanna cleared her throat. "Um… thanks for… that," she murmured. "I think I'm okay now."

"Oh, right," Draco said quickly, releasing her and hiding his face from her so she wouldn't see the embarrassed blush on his cheeks.

Evanna looked the other way, rubbing her arm and pretending not to see. Awkward…

* * *

Astrum was in a tizzy to see Draco with Evanna when they walked through to the lounge. Evanna was staring down at her tea, sitting in the middle of the plush chair as Draco chatted with Blaise Zabini. She felt so strange being at Astrum as a guest. For the past months, she had been a cleaning girl. She ceased to be a member of the posh society. Now sitting there as someone's guest felt so odd. It was as if she was some sort of alien looked at under a magnifying glass. She felt someone staring at the back of her head and she resisted the urge to pat down her hair.

What was more, she was still thinking about the whole slipping session that happened between her and Draco not too long ago. Evanna swore that by the way he was looking at her mouth that he intended to kiss her. She gripped her tea cup tightly, hoping vainly she wouldn't blush again. Why would she blush anyway? Shouldn't her upchuck reflexes be activated by such thoughts? I am so confused, Evanna thought. What on earth are these feelings and why am I feeling them for Draco Malfoy? He's such a little piece of turd. A little piece of turd with such nice eyes and strong… STOP IT!!

"Hey, you," Evanna looked up at the sound of Draco's voice. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Evanna answered, put her tea cup aside and stood up. "I think I should go. Everyone is staring at me."

Draco looked over Evanna's shoulder and indeed found a throng of people with their eyes trained on Evanna. He glared at them and they averted their gaze. "Don't pay attention to those idiots," Draco said.

"No, I think I'm going to go," Evanna insisted. "Grayson might start worrying. He starts acting… odd when he gets worried."

Draco sighed. "Fine," he conceded.

"Listen, Draco," Evanna said almost timidly in a manner that caused Draco to raise an eyebrow. "I want to thank you for today. Despite all your stupid remarks and infantile comments, I had fun."

Draco's eyebrow rose higher and he took a closer look at her face. The smallest hint of a blush was painted on her cheeks. A sly grin spread onto Draco's face. "Looks like you've fallen for me," he said smugly.

"What?!!" Evanna exclaimed.

Without warning, Draco put an arm around Evanna's shoulders and turned her around to face the other people in the lounge. "Attention, everyone. I'd like to make a statement," Draco announced to everyone in the room.

Oh, bugger, what now? Evanna looked up at Draco curiously. He was wearing a smug grin on his face.

"From this day forward," Draco went on in an authoritative manner, "Evanna Redway is my girlfriend. Anyone who treats her poorly will have to deal with me."

Evanna's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she stared at Draco. What. The. Hell!! Everyone in the lounge went into an uproar. They all started to talk all at once, some dashed out of the room to spread the gossip to other parts of the society. Evanna tried to wriggle out of Draco's grasp to try to remedy the situation but nobody would listen to her and Draco's grip was far too tight. How in the world did she become Draco's girlfriend? The moron didn't even ask her! Evanna tried to shout to the people in the lounge that Draco was being a git but it was as if she couldn't find the words to tell them all that she wasn't his girlfriend. What was going on with her? Shouldn't she be retching from the mere possibility? Here she was only half trying to tell everyone otherwise. Evanna looked up at Draco. He beamed down at her.

"I object," a clear voice from the doorway interjected loudly. Evanna knew that voice and she could have sworn her heart skipped a beat.

The entire lounge quieted down and every pair of eyes turned towards the doorway to stare at Sebastian Cardonell's grinning face.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Sebastian sat on the steps next to Evanna. He glanced at her and saw that she was staring out into space, a melancholic and tortured expression on her face. Sebastian looked away. He wasn't sure of what to say or what to do. He knew that she was in a relationship with Draco (or what seemed like a relationship) and he overstepped his boundaries and kissed her anyway. Sebastian supposed that after a week of failure in France, he had some shred of reason to act like a bit of a jerk. Still, as he watched Evanna mope about, occasionally shedding a tear, it became wildly apparent to him that he should not have dragged a nice girl who's done nothing to him into his problems.

_"I… want you to be happy." _

Sebastian glanced back over at Evanna as he remembered her words. Sebastian had never met any woman who cared so much about other people even when she had nothing to gain. Sebastian bit back a sigh. Looking at Evanna and talking to her, Sebastian understood why Draco fancied her so much. She was radiant in every sense of the word. She was a beautiful person and there is a part in all men that want to hold something pure and wonderful.

"I'm sorry," Evanna said suddenly.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Sebastian said softly. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"But you-"

"I kissed you because I wanted to," Sebastian said, giving her a small smile. "Don't worry about Draco."

Evanna sighed and put her face in her hands. "What am I going to do?" she asked tearfully. "How am I going to face him again? I don't know if he'll ever forgive me."

Sebastian watched her sob quietly into her hands. He watched her shoulders tremble and he frowned. He couldn't help but feel jealous of Draco. As far as Sebastian could see, Evanna felt something for him. The thought struck Sebastian with a pain of disappointment. Why did nothing ever go right for him? He took her hands in his and again wiped away her tears.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'm right here for you. Everything will be alright."

"But now he's angry at you as well," Evanna argued. "I am so sorry."

"Don't worry about me," Sebastian reassured her. "I'll be just fine. I said I'd be there for you and I mean it. You don't have to apologize so much."

"You're being so nice," Evanna smiled as she wiped away a stray tear. "Thank you."

"Well, perhaps you can repay me by doing me a favor"

"A favor?"

"You see, Astrum is putting on a party tonight and because I've just been back, I don't have a date," Sebastian said and smiled at Evanna. "Would you accompany me tonight?"

Evanna stared at his handsome face. "You mean on a date?" she asked.

"Essentially," Sebastian chuckled. "Please? Say yes."

Evanna stared at him. A date with Sebastian Cardonell. She had hoped that he would offer. She had hoped that he would be interested in her. But she was supposed to be Draco's girlfriend. And currently, she has just taken on the title of cheater. Evanna felt like she had been punched in the gut. She had never meant to hurt Draco. Well, she did but she never meant to devastate him. She only wanted to hurt his feelings enough to give her bragging rights and tease him endlessly. There was nothing funny about thoroughly hurting another individual. She remembered all the grief she had to go through and couldn't bear putting another individual through the same torture and the same pain.

She looked at Sebastian's eyes full of promise and she was tempted long enough to find her old courage again. Evanna felt horrible about Draco and could not get a load off her chest but Sebastian's hand was the one she's chosen, the one she's chosen from the beginning.

"I'd like that."

* * *

Astoria sipped her mixed drink, watching the glitter on her dress twinkle and sparkle in the low light. She grinned at her lovely pink satin dress with admiration. Thank goodness she managed to salvage this one from Daphne's path of destruction just in time. Astoria would have thrown a tantrum the size and ferocity of a dragon if her idiot sister destroyed her most beloved dress. With a final giggle to herself, Astoria lifted her eyes.

Astoria's eyes landed upon one of the most awful sights she's ever seen in her young and short life. Pansy Parkinson's dress was by far the most horrid, vomit inducing piece of monstrosity that has ever walked into a room. She was wearing a nude colored taffeta looking A-line dress that looked like ruffle vomit spewed upon her tiny bony body. But as if that wasn't enough, thrown over the nude ruffle vomit was a red plaid satin table cloth looking atrocity that resembled a kilt being eaten by a giant like chewing gum and spit back out on top of Pansy and held together by a pasty looking thin black belt. She looked like a rejected Scottish kilt.

"Heaven forgive the woman for not having the brains a simple goat has got," Astoria murmured to herself.

Astoria watched as Pansy dragged in her poor unfortunate date. Astoria's eyes grew wide as she laid her eyes on a very handsome (albeit grumpy) Draco Malfoy. He was wearing a slate gray suit and, to his credit, he attempted to match Pansy's zombie dress with a red checkered tie. Astoria couldn't take her eyes off him. Although he was obviously in a foul mood, he looked exceedingly debonair as he listened to Pansy's drivel.

"Wow…" Astoria muttered with an open mouth.

But the attention (or disgust) everyone was throwing Pansy was short lived. Right behind them, came Sebastian Cardonell and Evanna Redway. They looked so perfectly matched that everyone stared. Sebastian was wearing a modest yet striking beige suit with a white vest and black tie. He looked more princely than normal. Beside him, stood a radiant creature and it was quite obvious why Evanna Redway was hailed one of the most beautiful women of her age group. She was wearing a white vintage Marilyn Monroe inspired cocktail dress with a black satin bow around her small waist. Evanna looked the height of sophistication with soft curls framing her face.

Evanna was beginning to feel uncomfortable with all the attention. She vowed to have fun with Sebastian tonight and no amount of awkward staring would convince her otherwise. Evanna took one look at Pansy's tent of a dress and pursed her lips together to keep herself from laughing. The woman needed the definition of style redefined for her. Pansy's monster dress looked completely out of place against the soft twinkle of romantic candle light and the soothing classical music. Pansy looked like she belonged in the circus.

Evanna saw that Pansy had a leech like grip on Draco's arm and she was hit with an unexpected jolt of jealousy. It seared her right in the center of her chest and she had to blink a few times to discourage the tears from forming. She didn't know what was going on with her. She didn't know Draco being angry at her and taking Pansy as his date would affect her this much. It shouldn't affect her. She doesn't even like him. Draco turned his head slightly and locked eyes with Evanna. He stared at her for a minute, pure disappointment and vehemence radiating from his eyes.

Evanna felt her hand trembling and her eyes began to fill up with tears. Sebastian gave her hand an encouraging pat and smiled charmingly at her. Evanna bit back her tears and returned it. She was supposed to be having fun with Sebastian. Of course she felt like Draco had stabbed a stake through her with that look he gave her and she was thoroughly shaken up by it.

"We're off to a great start, aren't we?" Sebastian asked, watching Draco turn away.

"I'm sorry," Evanna said. "I'm not being a very good date."

"You should stop apologizing," Sebastian smiled. "Everything's fine."

"Evanna!!" Astoria giggled, suddenly appearing by Evanna's side. "You look bloody fantastic. I mean it figuratively of course because obviously you haven't got any blood on you. But you do look fantastic though. I absolutely adore your shoes!"

"Thanks, Astoria. I think your dress is fantastic as well," Evanna smiled. "You know Sebastian, don't you?"

"Hello, Sebastian," Astoria waved. "Evanna and I talk about you all the time. You're our favorite topic, actually."

"Astoria!!" Evanna gasped.

"Really?" Sebastian asked, amused. "And what does Evanna think of me?"

"Well, she thinks that you are very-"

Evanna's hand flew to Astoria's mouth to stop her from speaking. "Alright, thank you, Astoria," Evanna said. "That's quite enough humiliation for one night."

Sebastian laughed. Astoria pried Evanna's hands off her mouth. "Let me go get us some drinks, okay?" she asked, bounding away.

Evanna sighed and looked up at Sebastian who had the most amused look on his face. Sebastian shifted his eyes to her and both of them started laughing.

"Well, look what we've got here."

Evanna turned and found Pansy Parkinson with her hands on her hips leering at them. She had an absolutely smug look on her face and looked as if she's won some sort of grand prize. Draco stood beside her with his hands in his pockets, looking off to his left in order to avoid looking at Sebastian and Evanna. Evanna stared at him, almost pleading in her head for him to look at her. He was ignoring her and she couldn't stand it. Evanna wanted him to yell at her, to express all his frustrations at her but he Draco did nothing. He didn't even look at her and Evanna didn't know why it hurt her so much.

"Here are the traitors themselves," Pansy scoffed. "You two have a lot of nerve showing up here."

"What was that, Parkinson?" Evanna said with a mockingly sweet smile. "I can't hear you, dear. Your dress is too loud."

"Cute," Pansy rolled her eyes. "I don't even know why you're here. You're not even a member of this society anymore."

Evanna was about to answer when Draco sighed and grabbed Pansy's arm. "Let's go," he said simply.

"But Draco-"

"If you continue to insist on wasting my time, Pansy, I'm going home," he snapped at her. "What's it going to be?"

"Draco, you never let me have any fun," Pansy giggled at him, making Draco glower murderously.

"Draco…" Evanna whispered.

Draco stopped in midstep as if it was a natural reaction to Evanna's voice. He clenched his jaw and without looking at either Sebastian or Evanna, walked away. Evanna felt like he slapped her in the face. It shouldn't matter to her but it did. She should be happy that he was so angry but she wasn't. Evanna never expected to be this affected by Draco Malfoy. And she never expected getting ignored by Draco would hurt her this much.

Sebastian watched the first tears fall from Evanna's eyes. He closed his own eyes and breathed in deeply. Sebastian pulled Evanna into his arms in an embrace. Sebastian stared out at the back of Draco's head. Sebastian resisted the urge to kick something out of frustration. Of course he knew why Evanna was so upset about Draco. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. He sighed. Why does nothing ever go right for him when it came to women? Just when Sebastian was ready to let Evanna into his heart, she gave hers away to someone else. It just wasn't fair. Then again, nothing ever is. If only Sebastian had returned a little earlier from France. If only he had paid more attention he wouldn't have to let her go now. Why couldn't he be a little more greedy?

Sebastian looked down into Evanna's face and wiped away her tears. "Perhaps this wasn't a good idea," Sebastian whispered to her. "Why don't I take you home?"

* * *

Sebastian swaggered back into the party throng after taking Evanna home, his hands in his pockets. Well, that date ended in a total failure, Sebastian thought bitterly to himself. He grabbed a glass of champagne off a floating tray and took a swig from it. Sebastian saw Draco talking to Blaise a few feet away and he turned his heel and walked over to them. Blaise saw him coming and gestured to him. Draco turned his head and saw him. Draco scowled and made to leave. Sebastian reached out and clamped a hand on his shoulder to keep him from leaving.

"Wait a minute there, mate," Sebastian sneered at him.

"Take you hands off me, Sebastian," Draco hissed.

"You know, Draco," Sebastian said, taking a comfortable swig of his champagne, "I think I understand why you're so attached to Evanna Redway."

"Shut up," Draco snapped.

"I decided to take her home, you know," Sebastian smirked, "because the date was a complete failure and do you know what she did? The little tart threw herself on me."

"I'm warning you, Sebastian," Draco scowled at him angrily.

"I had to pry her fingers off me," Sebastian laughed. "I swear, I never thought it would be that easy. I never thought someone so classy would be such a whore. I thought-"

Sebastian didn't get a chance to finish. Draco's fist collided with his jaw and sent Sebastian sprawled on the floor. People around them gasped as they saw the murderous look in Draco's eyes.

"Don't talk about her like that, you sick slimy bastard," Draco snarled at Sebastian. "If you say another word about Evanna, I swear I'll kill you."

Sebastian felt his jaw, chuckled as he felt blood, and looked up at Draco. "So you do fancy her," he said, getting up to his feet. "You sure have an awful way of showing it."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"What happened wasn't Evanna's fault," Sebastian said to him. "It was mine. Why are you making her miserable for something that I did?"

Draco blinked at him and looked at all the people watching. "What are you all staring at?" Draco said loudly. "This has nothing to do with any of you."

"I'm only going to say this once so you better listen, Draco," Sebastian said seriously. "You better go after and stop being an arse or I'm really going to take her from you."

"Shut up, Sebastian," Draco said, turning his back and giving his friend a confident smile. "You couldn't take her from me even if you tried."

Sebastian grinned at him. "Yeah, you're welcome, Malfoy," he said.

* * *

Evanna sat in front of her mirror, brushing her hair, depressing herself with thoughts of Draco. She thought of how he brushed her aside, how he glared at her. She put the brush down, trying to persuade herself that it would all blow over and that she shouldn't feel this way.

When Sebastian took her home, he had wiped away her tears and embraced her, telling her he would take care of everything and that she shouldn't worry. Sebastian was an amazing man, caring and comforting but somehow she didn't feel the uncontrollable pining for him that she did before. Evanna didn't know why she didn't feel the same yearning for Sebastian that she used to. She didn't know why all she thought of was Draco. It was killing her inside and she couldn't help the tears from falling.

Evanna heard a faint tapping on the window and she turned her head to find an owl at her window. Evanna wiped away stray tears and went to open the window. The owl swooped in and dropped a letter in her hands. She unfolded it and furrowed her brow when she found that it was from Blaise Zabini. What could he possibly want?

_Evanna,_

_I'm sorry for bothering you like this but something happened_

_to Draco. He's been hurt and he's been asking_

_for you. We don't know if he's going to_

_make it. Please come back to Astrum. I know_

_you guys haven't been getting along_

_but it would mean a lot if you came._

_Please. We don't know how much time we have._

_Blaise Zabini_


	18. Chapter 18

***Sorry I only got this out now. FanFiction was giving me some sort of error for the past two days. It was beyond annoying. Anyway, thanks for all your support everyone!***

Chapter 18

Panicked, Evanna flung the letter to the floor and whizzed to her bed and pulled on her shoes hurriedly. The owl fled from her shoulder, squawking at her in consternation for moving so suddenly and without warning. Evanna spared it a haggard look as it flew out of the window. Her heartbeat had skyrocketed and her head was pounding. All she could see was Draco's face and his cocky expressions and all his arrogance but the thought of losing him made her stomach churn. This made no sense, this made no sense, she chanted in her head. What could have happened? What's going on? What happened to him? Is he bleeding? Is he brain dead? Is he dying?

The swirl of speculation only made Evanna's stomach churn worse. And in a rush of adrenaline, she was up on her feet and turning around in circles in her room to find her cloak. Her heart felt like it was caving in on itself. Damn you, Draco, she thought to herself. What the hell happened to you??

"Where the hell is my cloak?!!" Evanna screeched in frustration.

Grayson walked into the room, one hand in his pocket, sipping tea calmly. He watched his sister run around in circles with a very frustrated and furrowed brow. Grayson raised an eyebrow.

"What on earth has got you all worked up?" Grayson asked with another sip of his tea.

"Not now, Grayson," Evanna snarled at him. "I have to leave."

"Leave?!" Grayson exclaimed, dodging the dress that Evanna tossed over her head. "You just got back. You can't just leave again. Do you have any idea what time it is? It's almost midnight, Evanna. I insist upon you staying here. Are you even listening to me? Evanna!"

"Draco's hurt! I have to go!"

"Draco? Draco Malfoy?" Grayson questioned. "I thought you were appalled by him. Why do you care if he's hurt?"

"Of course I'm not appalled by him!" Evanna blurted out, throwing on a cloak. "He's my boyfriend!"

"Hold on, Ev-"

Evanna heard nothing and Apparated away from the room. Grayson stared into the space where she used to be with an open mouth.

"The woman never listens to me!" he grumbled to himself, walking out of the room. "I'm supposed to be her older brother. Why doesn't she listen to me? Women!"

* * *

Evanna Disapparated in Astrum and maniacally ran down the arched hallway toward the ballroom. She listened to her own feet pounding against the marble and her own ragged breathing, praying that she wasn't too late. But she didn't know exactly what she was going to be late for and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. But she had to know. She had to know if Draco was alright or not. Evanna was about to open the door to the ballroom but a voice stopped her.

"Evanna!"

Evanna turned. "Blaise!" she exclaimed, rushing to him. "What happened?"

"It just happened," Blaise responded, trying to avoid her gaze.

"What?" Evanna asked, confused by his answer.

"Come on," Blaise said, grabbing Evanna's arm. "I'll take you to Draco."

"Is he alright?" Evanna asked.

"For now," Blaise responded.

Blaise stopped at a mahogany set of double doors, looked over his shoulder at Evanna who was staring at the door with wide eyes as if some beast or monster was waiting for her on the other side. Blaise opened the door and stood aside so Evanna could enter.

Evanna's heart was hammering against her chest painfully. She vaguely saw Sebastian look up at her from his seat and stand up, an expectant look on his face. Evanna barely saw him. All she saw was Draco. He was lying on the bed, the sheets pulled up to his chest. Evanna heard Blaise close the door behind them and her heart skipped a beat. Evanna thought he looked pale. She didn't know what had happened or what was wrong, but she felt her heart bleed by the sight of seeing Draco motionless on the bed.

"No…" Evanna whispered, tears falling from her eyes. "No. This… has got to be a lie…"

"We don't know what's going to happen, Evanna," Blaise said in a concerned voice. "So if there's anything you need to tell Draco. You should do it now."

The thought of losing Draco so suddenly after they had such a huge fight and after she had done such a horrible thing to him put a great throbbing pain in Evanna's chest. She walked numbly to his side, watching his face, wanting his eyes to open. She kneeled down beside Draco just watching him, crying all the while. This just could not be happening, she thought wretchedly to herself. Evanna took his hand in hers and looked at him tearily.

"Draco, wake up," she pleaded at his unresponsive form, unable to stop the tears. "Why are you doing this? You have to wake up. You can't just leave. You can't. There are things I want to tell you, show you. I still want to fight with you and argue with you. Draco!"

Sebastian turned away and closed his eyes, his face rigid. Blaise stood looking out the window, his mouth stiff and stern. Evanna continued to cry, clutching Draco's hand with both her hands.

"Draco, I'm sorry," she continued. "I was wrong. I'm so sorry. If you'd wake up, I'd tell it to you. Draco." Evanna leaned over the bed and put her face in her hands, crying uncontrollably. Her heart was beating so fast and her head was spinning. "I couldn't say it before. I should have told you. Draco, I like you! Wake up. Wake up!"

Evanna continued for a while, crying into her arms. The sound filled the room. Blaise looked over at Sebastian and they exchanged looks. Sebastian looked back over to Draco. Suddenly, a huge smirk formed on Draco's face. His eyes snapped open and he turned his head to look at the blubbering Evanna.

"Really?" he asked with a wide grin.

Evanna looked up and saw his leering face and stumbled backwards onto the far wall, the look of plain shock and confusion apparent on her tear stained face. She looked at Draco with wide eyes. Draco snickered and laughed as he sat up. Blaise burst out laughing and clutched his stomach in over exaggerated mirth. Sebastian was smiling himself and sniggering quietly. Draco smirked at the both of them.

"I told you it would work!" Draco pointed at the two.

Evanna was powerless to say anything. She just watched them all laugh, her mouth hanging open, trying to process what had just happened. She watched Draco laugh, her eyes wide and confusion permeating her brain.

"Oh, that was epic," Blaise gasped, wiping away tears from his eyes. "They say we got the first cold front today and Evanna still came! How touching! I think if Draco really was hurt, he could die a happy man!"

"What on earth…?!" Evanna murmured, watching Draco smirk at her. She then turned to Sebastian. "Sebastian, you knew about this."

"Sorry, Evanna," Sebastian chuckled. "You and Draco were just too stubborn. I couldn't resist."

"Oh, I knew it," Draco said arrogantly, glancing at Evanna. "I knew you'd come for me if you knew that I was hurt. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself knowing that you weren't by my side in my hour of need."

"What?!" Evanna gaped at him.

"You know," Draco laughed, "because you loved me!!"

Evanna's hand flew to Draco's face and clamped over his mouth to stop him from talking. "Shut up!" she screeched. "I never said that!"

"Look, she can't keep her hands off him!" Blaise teased.

Evanna took her hands off Draco and shot Blaise a disgruntled look. Evanna glared at Draco's irritatingly happy face and smacked him over the shoulder.

"Hey!" Draco protested through his laughter. "Is that any way to treat a sick and dying man?"

"Sick and dying man?!" Evanna exclaimed, picked up a pillow and started beating Draco over the head with it. "You'll be sick and dying after I'm through with you, you idiot!"

"Ow!" Draco continued to laugh. "You're hurting me! Stop!"

"I'll murder you for this!" Evanna yelled at him.

Sebastian watched all this with a smile on his face. He listened to Blaise laughing in the corner and stared down at his hands. Evanna (though looking thoroughly embarrassed and annoyed at the prank) looked happy being on good terms with Draco again and Draco, well, he wasn't hiding the fact that he was ecstatic to have Evanna's attention all to himself. As long as Evanna was happy, Sebastian should be fine with it right? As long as everyone was getting on fabulously, Sebastian shouldn't care one way or the other. Right?

Sebastian looked up and watched Draco and Evanna squabble, hitting each other over the heads with pillows. Evanna's eyes were sparkling and Draco's face was absolutely alive. Sebastian stood up and walked out of the room. He closed the door behind him and listened to the light hearted argument. He shook his head, smiling. He walked off towards the direction of the ball with no intention of joining the party. He plunged his hand into his pockets.

He had let Draco have his way yet again. He let Evanna go to him. He let Evanna be happy with him. Who was he to get in the way of her happiness? If she fancied Draco, then she should be with him. Jealousy tugged at Sebastian as the reality of Evanna fancying Draco dawned on him. He slowed to a stop. What was he to do now? He liked his best friend's girlfriend. When he closed his eyes, he no longer saw Camilla's face. He saw Evanna's. He was far too considerate for his own good. Sebastian looked up at the stars. He knew that he would regret letting Evanna go.

* * *

The next day solidified the arrival of autumn. The air was crisp and every witch and wizard shuddered into the cloaks, preparing for the onslaught of cold winds and eventual snow. Evanna had not quite forgiven Draco for playing such a cruel trick on her. However, she agreed to go on a date with him. It was his way of making up for the prank, he claimed. Evanna had misgivings about that but she went along anyway. Draco was pleasant enough, she supposed, when he wasn't being a complete git of course. Evanna just couldn't believe she fell for such a stupid trick!

Draco and Evanna stepped out of a shop in Diagon Alley. They had just eaten lunch and Draco had dragged her into a variety store to look at the merchandise. He had bought a camera and was busy taking very many random pictures of Evanna. After a while, Evanna had grown tired of smiling for him and began to grimace at him.

"That's enough pictures!" Evanna exclaimed, pushing Draco's camera out of her face.

"Well, if you'd smile properly, this would go smoothly," Draco claimed.

"That's a lie," Evanna told him, turning to walk away.

"Wait," Draco said, grabbing her arm and turning her back around, "you've got a bit of fluff in your hair. I don't know why you had to go see those damn owls. Now you've got feathers all over you."

Evanna watched his face as he fussed over the feathers in her hair. He really was quite handsome, she confessed to herself. He could be quite adorable at times as well, she supposed. Her heart started beating faster as she watched Draco's handsome face. As if sensing the increased rhythm, Draco looked down at her face. He ran a finger down the side of her face, his eyes glued to hers. Draco's lips turned up a fraction into a smile and leaned down into her. Evanna watched him get closer and closer to her face, her heart pounding harder. She closed her eyes and felt him touch his lips to hers and she was swept away.

* * *

Pansy was walking out of a clothing boutique when she saw it. Draco was kissing Evanna in the middle of Diagon Alley. Pansy felt as if she had been slapped in the face. Her hands curled into fists as she watched the infuriatingly happy couple. How dare Draco do this to her? How dare Evanna presume to think that she could steal Draco away? This wasn't over, far from it. Pansy scowled at the two as they walked away together. How dare they? Their relationship wouldn't last long. Pansy would personally see to that.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

_**Three Months Later**_

Narcissa was paging through Witch Weekly contently. It seemed as if things had returned to some sort of order. Lucius was busy with whatever business he had. Narcissa didn't care to find out what exactly it was that Lucius did to provide for them. Draco was the picture of mirth and his friends apparently saw him far more than his parents did. Narcissa was told this was normal among young men. Narcissa sipped her tea gingerly. It finally seemed that the horror and humiliation Miss Redway had caused them has finally waned. And not a moment too soon, Narcissa thought. If she had to hear more whispering when she passed by, she would have started tearing out her perfectly blonde hair.

A timid knock came to the study's door. Narcissa looked up. "Come in," she breathed.

A house elf scurried in. Narcissa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The house elf bowed low to the ground, touching its nose to the ground. "Well, what is it?" Narcissa snapped.

"Mistress has a visitor," the elf squawked.

"Who is it?"

"It's Miss Pansy Parkinson."

Narcissa scoffed. Out of all the young women she met, she has never met one so decidedly conceited and trashy. "Send her away," Narcissa ordered. "I have no patience for ridiculous half wits."

"Mistress, Miss Parkinson says she has information on young Master Draco that would be of interest to you," the elf said, bowing lower to the ground lest he incur Narcissa's wrath.

Narcissa stared at the wrinkly, detestable elf. There is no possible way a woman such as Pansy Parkinson would have anything poignant to show Narcissa. At best, Pansy would come in ranting and raving about some baseless and unfounded gossip she heard. Narcissa should completely dismiss Pansy Parkinson but resisting her curiosity was never Narcissa's strong suit. And when it came to knowing a little bit more about her son's business, what mother would say "no"? Therefore, as much as she detested it, she sent for Pansy Parkinson.

Pansy strode into the study, her nose firmly stuck up in the air, looking at Narcissa with an air of arrogance that irritated Narcissa more than she should have allowed. Pansy sat down prissily in a chair in front of Narcissa, looking around the library critically. Narcissa was getting more and more aggravated as she watched her.

"You're here for a reason, I assume, Miss Parkinson," Narcissa said, attempting to keep her voice monotone.

"I'm here because of Draco," Pansy said outright.

"I am not a therapist, Miss Parkinson, nor am I your messenger," Narcissa said coldly. "Whatever childish fight you have with my son is of no interest to me."

"I haven't talked to Draco in months."

"I'm sure you'll survive."

"However, I bring you news that might shock and even anger you," Pansy went on, standing up and pacing contemptuously. "Do you know that your son has a girlfriend?"

"I have no doubts that he's had several," Narcissa sighed. "Do you questions have a point?"

"Your loving son is dating none other than Evanna Redway," Pansy smirked at the older woman and relished the look of shock in Narcissa's eyes. "Oh, yes. Quite shocking, isn't it? The woman disgraces the Malfoy family and humiliates your family and transforms herself into an overnight maid thereby exposing your family to even more ridicule for having chosen her as Draco's fiancée to begin with.

"But even after all this, Evanna Redway had the gall to seduce Draco into dating her," Pansy laughed. "So now dear Draco is panting after the same woman who's exposed him to derision and mockery. But perhaps what's worse is that he's dating a woman so decidedly below his own social standing. He's dating a maid for goodness sake!"

"Enough!" Narcissa exclaimed, surging up from her seat as Pansy began to cackle. "I will have none of this nonsense. You have no proof, Miss Parkinson."

Pansy only grinned and pulled a stack of photos from the pocket of her robes and tossed them on the table in front of Narcissa. "Those are photos of your beloved son with Evanna Redway. They've been dating for three months now," Pansy said.

Narcissa scowled down at the photos but refused to touch them. The photos do indeed show Draco and Evanna together. They indeed look very happy. To Narcissa's horror, she even spied one picture where Draco was helping Evanna clean. Pansy seemed pleased with Narcissa's horror.

"If the entire wizarding community found out about this, your family would again be exposed to contempt," Pansy said. "It'll be pathetic. I mean, Draco is so ardently smitten with a poor no account cleaning girl who's living with her half blood bastard half brother. I could just hear the derision in my mother's voice now."

"That's quite enough, Miss Parkinson," Narcissa said, her voice rigid and her face cold. "I will remedy the situation. You may leave now."

"I have a proposition for you," Pansy said, watching Narcissa continue to glare at the photos. "You absolutely must destroy this relationship Draco has with Evanna Redway and you must find a way to keep him from ever going back to her. Name me as Draco's new fiancée and I swear to you, Mrs. Malfoy, Evanna Redway will never see Draco ever again."

Narcissa looked up at Pansy Parkinson, a vehement glint in her eyes. "Do you know who I am, Miss Parkinson?" Narcissa hissed at her. "You dare to come here and make demands at me? You've clearly lost your mind. I don't now nor will I ever require your advice and I will certainly not have Draco marry a woman as substandard as yourself. You will leave now."

Pansy could not hide the anger and shock in her face. "You're making a big mistake, Mrs. Malfoy," Pansy said as Narcissa snapped her fingers. "Draco won't be controlled so easily. He needs to be taught a lesson he'd never forget. He needs to be taught to aim higher when choosing women."

Another house elf came in as Narcissa glowered at Pansy. "Don't tell me how to discipline my son," Narcissa snarled. "You're no longer welcome here, Miss Parkinson. Show Miss Parkinson out."

"You're making a mistake!" Pansy screeched as the house elf proceeded to drag her out of the room. "I am the best woman for Draco! He should be with me!"

Narcissa watched the door swing shut and listened to Pansy scream and shout obscenities to the house elf. Narcissa turned her eyes back to the cursed photos. Pansy Parkinson was a horrid and vile girl. Narcissa would die before she would let Draco marry her. Narcissa moved her eyes back to the photos of Draco and Evanna. She spread them out on the table in front of her. She looked at each critically. What on earth was Draco thinking?

* * *

Things were quiet at Astrum that afternoon. Evanna wasn't there as a guest that day. She and her brother were there as guests of Draco Malfoy. Evanna watched her brother dive in and out of the pool in mirth as she lounged next to Astoria and sipped cold juice. Grayson was behaving like a lunatic.

"Evie!" Grayson shouted from the edge of the pool. "Can you believe this? I just cleaned this yesterday and now I'm swimming in it!!"

"Well, be sure you don't drown so you'll still be here to clean it tomorrow," Evannna commented.

"Why do you have to say things like that?" Grayson pouted. "It hurts my feelings to hear my little sister say things like that."

Evanna chuckled. "Love you!"

Grayson rolled his eyes. "Stop that," he said. "Being sensitive doesn't suit you."

Evanna and Astoria laughed and watched him dive into the pool. Evanna sighed comfortably.

"Oh, I never imagined I'd be lounging here like this ever again," Evanna said to Astoria.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Astoria asked.

"It's a bit weird, to be honest," Evanna said, gesturing to two girls who were staring at them blatantly. "I get stared at so often it's like I'm walking around with a second head or something."

"Well, you can hardly blame them, can you?" Astoria laughed. "You and Draco make more scandal than a baby elephant born to guinea pig parents."

"First of all, that's a physical and biological impossibility," Evanna said and Astoria giggled girlishly. "And second of all-"

"THERE YOU ARE, YOU CONNIVING, SCHEMING LITTLE WRETCH!!!"

Evanna sighed at the hated familiarity in the voice that she heard. "I was wondering when this nonsense would happen," Evanna said, putting aside her juice and standing up.

Evanna turned and saw Pansy charging at her, a ferocious look in her eyes. "Listen, Pansy, you-"

Evanna didn't get to finish. Pansy pulled out her wand and attacked Evanna. Evanna flew back and smashed into Astoria, sending them both sprawling on the ground. Pansy let out a mad primal yell and raised her wand for another attack. A hand grabbed her arm and she yelped madly as she shrugged the person away. Pansy swerved and immediately sent an attack to the person trying to stop her.

The spell hit Draco in the chest and sent him soaring backwards. His head hit a marble column with a deafening crack and he slid downwards to the ground, unconscious. People around them screamed as they heard his head collide with the column. Pansy's face lit up with horror and she dropped her wand to the ground. Evanna rose to her feet and ran to Draco immediately. Sebastian and Blaise ran into the scene and saw Draco lying unconscious on the floor.

"Blaise, get the nurse!" Sebastian commanded as Blaise took off running. "What's going on here?"

"It's Pansy!" Astoria said. "She just came in and attacked us!"

Evanna raised Draco's head onto her lap. "Draco?" she called. "Draco, wake up."

Evanna pulled her hand away from behind his head, feeling something sticky. Her hand came away wet with blood.

Everyone's gaze turned to Pansy. Pansy had the look of absolute horror on her face as she saw the blood on Evanna's hand.

"I… didn't… mean…"

* * *

Narcissa pulled the curtains closed and turned back towards the room. She watched her son sleep in his bed, bandages firmly wrapped around his head. Narcissa scowled. Earlier that day, a frantic owl was sent to her by the nurse of Astrum Society. Draco, the letter claimed, had received massive head trauma and is currently unconscious. Narcissa raced to Astrum to find her beloved son to have none other than Evanna Redway seated at his side. The girl had the nerve to stare at Narcissa in the face though she had done almost everything to humiliate the Malfoy family. Narcissa found Evanna Redway all the more irritating.

Narcissa thought back to what Pansy Parkinson had told her earlier that day. The two had been dating for three months. Narcissa closed her eyes in frustration. Draco is such a child. He only knows what he wants and disregards the rest. Does he not realize what he's doing? Does he not realize the mockery and humiliation he would bring to himself and the entire family? Does he think at all? How could he still fancy that Evanna Redway after all she did to them? After she made a fool out of all of them?

Narcissa blew out a breath. She was getting so tired of the nonsense that goes on around her. She picked up the letter sent to her from the Parkinson household. She read a few lines:

"… _apologize for Pansy's behavior…"_

"_Pansy has been sent away to etiquette reform school…"_

"…_.if there's anything we can do…"_

Narcissa pointed her wand at the piece of parchment and watched it smolder and fall to ashes on the floor. She didn't care if Pansy Parkinson had been sent to a mental institution. The trashy girl had nothing to do with her or with Draco. Narcissa looked back towards Draco. Foolish boy, she thought. She walked around his bed, intending to seek out Lucius. Draco wasn't going to continue dating Evanna Redway. She wasn't going to allow the perpetuation of her family's humiliation. Pansy's childish pranks hadn't worked. Obviously. Narcissa had to do something quite extreme and if the situation worsens, something quite devious.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"Grayson!" Evanna yelled, chasing her beloved older brother around the house, wielding a broom to hit him with. "Give it back!"

Grayson cackled, held the heart shaped box to his chest and brandished the red and pink card in front of his face and read, "'Evanna, these past few months have been great. I hope we continue to be closer and closer. Happy Valentines Day. Draco.'" Grayson hooted. "Aw, little Evie and the little Malfoy boy! So cute! Kissy kissy!"

"Shut up, Grayson!" Evanna yelled. "Give it back to me! Give it back now!"

Evanna swung the broom forward toward his feet and tripped him. Grayson went sprawling to the floor, laughing the entire time. Evanna sat on his back and reached forward for the heart shaped chocolate box while Grayson crowed incessantly, reciting the message in the card again and again. Evanna whacked him over the head.

Their antics stopped when they heard a knock on their door. Evanna took advantage of the momentary standstill and snatched the box of chocolates away from her brother. She whacked him over the head one more time before she got up and went to the door. Evanna wrenched open the door, still throwing insults over her shoulder at her brother.

Evanna turned and came face to face with Narcissa Malfoy. A cold chill passed over Evanna as she stared at her. Narcissa sneered down at her, narrowing her eyes coldly.

"Uh…" Evanna stammered.

Narcissa scowled. "Well, are you just going to stand there staring rudely or are you going to invite me into your… home."

Evanna, irritated at her tone, began to close the door in her face. Grayson reached over and put a hand on the door to keep Evanna from slamming it. "Now, now, Evie, don't be rude," Grayson smiled. "Please, Mrs. Malfoy, come in."

"And just how do you know me, young man?" Narcissa demanded.

"You are the mother of my sister's boyfriend, of course," Grayson answered cheerfully. Evanna elbowed him sharply.

"Indeed," Narcissa said condescendingly.

Narcissa stepped inside the house, a pinched expression on her face as if she smelled the odor of dung. She stood in the middle of the living room, looking around the area, thinking that she wouldn't even let her owls relieve themselves in such a hovel. Narcissa felt as if she might get an allergic reaction to the entire place. It was, in her opinion, revolting. How could anyone live in such conditions?

"Please have a seat," Grayson offered, gesturing to the sofa.

Evanna watched her stare at the sofa as if it was a diseased and rabid chimpanzee about to lick her face. Evanna wanted to kick her. After a second or two, Narcissa moved towards the sofa.

"Thank you," she said stiffly.

"May I offer you some tea? Cake?" Grayson offered with a huge grin on her face.

Evanna shot her brother a glare. Why the hell is he being so nice to the demon in tasteful clothing? Why can't he just be irritated and insulted that she's looking down her tragically pointed nose at them? Grayson can be such a brown noser, Evanna thought huffily. Evanna turned her head just in time to see the disgusted look on Narcissa's face. Evanna had to bite her lip to keep herself from exploding on her.

"That won't be necessary," Narcissa said scornfully. "I only came here for one thing." Narcissa then turned her eyes on Evanna. "You are currently dating my son, are you not, Miss Redway?"

"Yes," Evanna answered, narrowing her eyes at her, "and we have a fantastic relationship."

"No doubt," Narcissa said, rolling her eyes which only made Evanna angrier. "I find it surprising at the number of fickle girls in today's society. I swear, these women who can't seem to make up their little minds are simply astonishing. They even have the gall to throw other people's lives into chaos in pursuit of their irritating trivialities. I find it all too dreadful. But you don't have a problem with that, do you, Miss Redway?"

Evanna glared and curled her hands into fists. "No," she said through gritted teeth.

Narcissa chuckled and reached for something in the insides of her robes. "Well, seeing that you are my son's beloved girlfriend," she said, handing Evanna a pink letter, "I took it upon myself to hand deliver this to you."

"What is it?" Evanna asked, taking the envelope from her.

"Why, it's a letter, of course." Narcissa said condescendingly, standing up from the sofa. "In it is an invitation the Malfoy family's Valentines Day Ball this evening. In light of your current relationship with my son, your presence has been deemed necessary."

"Wow, a ball," Evanna said, opening the envelope.

"Yes, do make an appearance if you're not too busy scrubbing people's homes," Narcissa said contemptuously, garnering a glare from Evanna. "And do wear something tasteful if you can. We mustn't be an embarrassment."

* * *

Evanna had a rag in her hand and was absently wiping the floor to ceiling window, not at all seeing or thinking about what she was doing. She was wiping in circles and if she persisted, she'd rub a hole into the window glass. It was a crisis in her opinion. It was a catastrophe, a disaster, a calamity, an upheaval, a cataclysm. Narcissa Malfoy did not perform charitable deeds out of the goodness of her heart. The woman had no goodness in her heart. Evanna wasn't even sure she had a heart at all.

But then why had she invited her to the Valentines Ball? The woman must be scheming something devious and underhanded. Why would she invite Evanna to a Malfoy event? Draco didn't even say anything about it. And why exactly didn't Draco say anything about it, that great lump? He couldn't be embarrassed of her, could he? She should be annoyed of his lack of participation in the communicative processes but she was a great deal more worried about Narcissa's plans.

What on earth was she planning? Was she going to attempt to humiliate Evanna again? Was she going to attempt to split Draco and her up? Was she going to unceremoniously dump hors d'oeuvres over her head and maniacally laugh? She curled her fist around the rag she was holding and scowled.

"I won't let you beat me!" she yelled.

"I think the window bows to your superiority," a voice behind her said.

Evanna turned around and saw Sebastian standing behind her, his hands in his pockets, an amused grin on his handsome face. Evanna stood up, getting up from her knees in surprise.

"Sebastian!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," he responded.

"Right," Evanna nodded, embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Are you alright?" he asked, ambling over to her and picking up another rag.

"Yes. What are you doing?" she asked, watching him start wiping the windows himself.

"I'm helping you, of course."

"No, Sebastian, you don't have to do that," Evanna protested. "Your parents paid me to clean this place up so you don't have to."

"It's my house and I'll do what I like," Sebastian responded smoothly. He then glanced over at her. "Aren't you going to help me?"

"Oh!" Evanna said, taking her rag to the window again. "Sorry."

Sebastian grinned at her. Something obviously was on her mind. Why do girls nowadays insist on putting up a strong façade instead of just being honest with their feelings? They make things far more difficult than they have to be.

"Did something happen?' he asked.

"No, why would you ask that?"

"Well, I passed by here half an hour ago and you've been wiping the same spot for about half an hour now," Sebastian answered.

Evanna removed her rag from the window and sighed. "Sebastian, do you know about the Valentines' Ball at the Malfoy Manor tonight?"

"Yes."

"Are you going?"

"Of course," Sebastian answered. "What's going on?"

"Well, Narcissa Malfoy came to my house this morning and personally handed me an invitation to her ball tonight," Evanna said.

Sebastian stared out the window for a while. He could tell why she would be worried. Narcissa Malfoy was malevolence personified. She once made a sweet little puppy cry in fear when it saw her scowl. The woman was downright dastardly. There was definitely planning something.

"I see," he said finally. "What did Draco say?"

"I hadn't heard from Draco," Evanna complained. "He didn't even tell me there was going to be a ball at his manor tonight. Not that I particularly care about the social agenda of his family but I would have preferred at least knowing something about it before his dragon of a mother came and invaded my house."

"She came to your house you say?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes, she did and made snide comments the entire time," Evanna rolled her eyes. "She's planning something. I know she is. And what's worse is that I have absolutely nothing to wear!"

"What happened to your dress clothes?"

"I set fire to it in a fit of rage when I left the Malfoy Manor many months ago," Evanna said simply and then groaned loudly. "What am I going to do?"

"Do you want some tea?" Sebastian asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Tea," Sebastian said, dropping the rag into a bucket. "You seem to be stressed at the moment. A nice cup of tea will do you wonders, I'll bet. Wait here."

"Wait, Sebastian, you-"

But it was too late. Sebastian had already wandered off farther into the manor. Evanna sighed and continued to wipe the same spot that she had been wiping for the past half hour. A cup of tea might help her calm her nerves for a good hour but it won't do anything for her Narcissa situation. Evanna sighed. She felt as if she was heading into battle and she was going to get massacred.

Minutes later, Sebastian returned. He had two tea cups in his hand. He handed one to Evanna.

"Thank you," she said gratefully. Then she saw a floating box next to Sebastian's shoulder. "Sebastian, what's that?"

Sebastian grinned, took the box from its floating position and handed it to Evanna. "It's for you," he said.

"Oh, no," she protested. "I can't possibly accept whatever that is."

"I shall be insulted if you refuse it," he said gallantly.

Evanna looked at him and felt that she could not possibly argue with his impossibly bright and charming face. The man was too good looking. It should be illegal. She pulled the top off the box and a stunning red and gold evening gown greeted her. Evanna's eyes grew wide as she stared at it.

"I surmise that you like it?" Sebastian asked with a chuckle.

"Sebastian, where did you get this?"

"It's one of my mother's," Sebastian answered, taking a sip of his tea. "She has a fetish for gowns she can't fit into."

"Is this for me?" Evanna asked.

"I don't know what Draco's mother is up to tonight," Sebastian sighed, "but the least I can do is help you look wicked as you ride into battle."

Evanna smiled up at him. "Why are you so nice to me?"

Sebastian paused and stared at her smiling face. His heart twisted with longing. If only she knew, he thought. If only things had gone differently. If I only he could tell her. But of course, he couldn't. Time and circumstance had gone against him. All he could do is look from the outside and keep his mouth shut and his feelings inside. Despite all this, Sebastian gave her a smile.

"Because we're friends," he said. "It's the least I could do."

Evanna smiled wider at him. She reached forward and gave him a hug. "Thank you, Sebastian," she said. "You're amazing."

He received her hug with a throbbing in his chest. She's beautiful, incredible, irresistible. When he closed his eyes, there she was. He couldn't get her out of his head. But he can't have her. She doesn't want him. Sebastian bit back a sigh. What had he done to deserve the worst luck in love?

* * *

"Wow, will you look at this place, Evie?" Grayson laughed. "It's like Cupid vomited all over it."

A few snooty rich friends of the Malfoys looked over with disgusted faces. Evanna tugged on his arm and pulled him away. She led him to the refreshment table.

"If you're going to insult the décor, Grayson, please have the decency to say it quietly," Evanna hissed at him.

"You're not worried about what these people think of us, are you, Evie-kins?" Grayson chuckled, waggling his eyebrow at her.

"No, of course not," Evanna rolled her eyes. "They can all go shove bright metallic poles up their arses but I would rather not get tossed out into the cold. I'm wearing a bloody dress tonight."

"You are such a girl," Grayson laughed.

"I am a girl," Evanna argued.

"Could have fooled me," Grayson teased.

"Shut up," Evanna said.

"Evanna!"

Grayson and Evanna look up to find Draco walking over to them.

"I thought my mother was joking when she told me she invited you," Draco confessed.

"Yes, and why didn't you invite me yourself?" Evanna asked, putting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow at him.

"I was going to," Draco argued. "My mother kept me busy all day today."

"Excuses, excuses," Evanna rolled her eyes at him.

"It's true!"

"Well, seeing as the two of you are lovingly bickering with each other, I'm going to find a wealthy heiress to chat up," Grayson said and walked off, looking like a kid in a candy store as he walked.

"Your brother is so odd," Draco observed.

Evanna smacked him. "I'm the only one who can insult my brother."

"Will you cease being violent for one day?" he quipped.

"And what's the fun in that?" Evanna responded.

Draco sighed. She was relentless. Did he really think that the vivacious and effervescent Evanna would ever be submissive and passive? He smirked to himself. He must be insane to ever think as thus.

"You look incredible," Draco commented. "Where'd you get the dress?"

"Sebastian gave it to me," Evanna answered.

Draco instantly flared up with jealousy. "And just what were you doing with Sebastian, you great flirt?" he demanded.

"Don't give me that tone, Draco Malfoy," Evanna argued. "For your information, Grayson and I were cleaning their manor today. And as for the dress, did you want me to show up here naked?"

"I wouldn't have minded that one bit, actually," Draco smirked.

"You pervert."

"Here's the loving couple," Blaise announced as he and Sebastian walked up to them, wine glasses in their hands.

"Who asked you two to butt in?" Draco demanded of them.

"Can't have Draco keeping a seductively radiant creature like Evanna all to yourself, can we, Sebastian?" Blaise asked, elbowing Sebastian playfully.

"Please don't include me in your dirty infantile jokes, Blaise," Sebastian said simply.

"Why do I feel violated by that comment?" Evanna mused.

"Blaise here might have had too much to drink already," Sebastian explained.

"That must be why I think Evanna looks like a walking red banana," Blaise laughed.

"You are such a Neanderthal," Sebastian commented. "Honestly, your parents ought to have used contraception before they had you."

"Like condoms?" Blaise said loudly, making a couple of people around them turn around in disgust.

Sebastian sighed. "You ought to be caged, Zabini," he said.

"Come on, Evanna, let's dance," Draco said, taking her hand and leading her out to the dance floor.

"Why?" Evanna asked.

"So I have some excuse to put my hands on you," Draco answered with a leer.

"Disgusting!" Evanna exclaimed, giving him another smack.

* * *

Narcissa watched her son dance happily with Evanna Redway. She stood on the steps of the grand staircase glaring down at them. This nonsense has to be brought to a screeching halt. Narcissa looked off to her left and noticed a girl in a pale pink evening gown. She smiled to herself.

Narcissa picked up the skirt of her gown and walked demurely down the stairs. She smiled at her guests as she walked among them. She tapped Lucius on the shoulder.

"Lucius, it's time to make the announcement," she told him.

"Alright," Lucius said, heading for the steps of the grand staircase. "Fetch Draco."

Narcissa turned swiftly and walked through the throng, a giant smirk on her face.

* * *

Draco had just received another smack on the shoulder from Evanna after making yet another obnoxious comment. He laughed it off, of course, enjoying ruffling her feathers.

"Having a good time?"

Draco looked over his shoulder and saw his mother peering at them with her hawk like eyes. Draco bit back a sigh and a roll of his eyes as he hesitantly let go of Evanna. Evanna was staring straight at Narcissa's face, refusing to be intimidated.

"Hello, mother," Draco said. "Yes, we are having a lovely time. Thank you for asking."

"That's nice," Narcissa said with a faux smile, "but your father is about to make an announcement and your presence is needed there."

"Why does Father need me there to make an announcement?" Draco asked.

"Now, Draco," Narcissa said, narrowing her eyes at him.

Draco sighed and finally rolled his eyes. "I'll be back, Evanna," Draco said to Evanna.

Narcissa gave Evanna one last smirk as she turned away to follow her son towards the staircase. Draco walked through the guests, heading for the staircase where his father was impatiently standing. What is it now? Draco thought to himself with a roll of his eyes. Draco walked up to him. Narcissa followed.

"Father?" Draco said.

"Stand here, Draco," Lucius said, motioning to a spot next to him.

Draco did as he was told, biting back another sigh. Lucius then pointed his wand to his throat amplifying his voice to boom out over the congregated guests.

"My esteemed colleagues and guests," Lucius started as his guests turned to him and quieted down. "I want to thank you all for coming to our little celebration. Tonight is Valentines Day and I'm sure everyone here is filled with love and devotion. As it is a day of love and happiness, I'd like to share with all of you a special announcement."

Draco looked over at his father with curiosity. Announcement? He didn't know anything about any announcement.

"As you all may know, our Draco is reaching the prime age to be married," Lucius said and Draco began to furrow his brow in confusion. "However, as he is a Malfoy, he of course deserves the very best. It is Narcissa's and my job to provide him with the best as his parents. However, after weeks of contemplation and surmising, we are happy to share with all of you some amazing news."

Lucius snapped his fingers.

"Hey! What are you doing? Let go of me! I demand you unhand me!"

Every head turned to the direction of the yelling. The crowds parted to reveal Astoria Greengrass being dragged forward by her hands by a pair of house elves. She was yelling and complaining the entire time. Her pale pink gown billowed around her thighs as she struggled against the house elves' dragging. They pushed her up onto the ballroom staircase steps.

"What is this all about?" Astoria demanded.

"My friends," Lucius began again, "it is with great pleasure that I announce that my son, Draco and Miss Astoria Greengrass are engaged to be married."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The Malfoy Ballroom went wild at the news of Draco and Astoria's engagement. Astoria looked absolutely dumbstruck, a vacant expression in her face, her eyes wide in astonishment. Draco curled his fists amid the congratulations and well wishes expressed by the guests around him. Lucius pushed Draco and Astoria together and people began taking their pictures, blinding Draco and filling the air with puffs and jets of smoke. Draco looked out into the crowd and saw Evanna's eyes wide with bewilderment. He watched Sebastian, who was standing beside her, look over at her worriedly. Draco scowled and turned to his father.

"Father, what on earth is going on here?" he asked.

"You haven't got much youth left in you, Draco," Lucius said. "You won't be young and good looking forever. It's only proper that you marry well."

"But Father-"

"I don't want to hear it, Draco," Lucius said, turning away from him. "The decision has been made."

"But Father, why Astoria?"

"Astoria was your mother's choice," Lucius said and swept away to shake hands with the Greengrasses.

Draco turned towards his mother. Narcissa gave him a pointed stare and turned away. Draco pursued her when she turned away to climb up the staircase.

"Mother, what is this bloody engagement about?" Draco demanded from her.

"Language, Draco," Narcissa hissed, turning around to face him once they were out of earshot.

"Why are you doing this?" Draco insisted. "You know I'm dating Evanna Redway."

"Yes, Miss Evanna Redway," Narcissa scoffed. "That little tart who had the nerve to humiliate us ruthlessly and then muster up the gall to seduce you. I will never allow such an irritating girl to ever carry the name of Malfoy."

"Mother-"

"And the girl is now cleaning manors, houses and Astrum for goodness sake," Narcissa jeered. "Working class! How absurd! I would never allow such a decidedly shoddy girl to carry on the name of Malfoy."

"Don't insult her!" Draco yelled.

Narcissa looked over at him, an eyebrow raised. "And you stand there defending that embarrassment to purebloods," she snorted. "Do you not remember what she did to us? What she did to you? How thick are you to fall for the woman that caused you humiliation? You must be out of your mind."

"She's my girlfriend."

"Not anymore, she isn't," Narcissa argued. "You are not to fraternize with Miss Redway any longer; do you understand me, young man? You will not aid her in spoiling the Malfoy name any further. You will not dare defy me, Draco. I'm warning you."

"You can't interfere with my social life," Draco scowled. "I'll date whoever I want. It's my life and I'm not marrying Astoria!"

"Just dare to defy me, Draco," she said threateningly. "Miss Redway's livelihood and wellbeing depends on getting work at other wizards' manors. I can destroy her little business, you know. It's not that hard to destroy the working class. A sprinkle of ruined reputation and a dash of bad luck and she'll be homeless in no time at all. If you want your sweet Miss Evanna Redway not to die of starvation, then you'd better be the perfect fiancé to Miss Astoria."

"You wouldn't," Draco said.

"Why don't you try me, Draco?" Narcissa smirked. "But I guarantee that you won't fancy the consequences."

* * *

Evanna sat in a hallway in Astrum, a rag in her hand, staring down at her reflection in the dirty water bucket. All she could think about was the previous night. Draco and Astoria engaged? The news hit her like a load of bricks when she heard it. She wanted an explanation. She wanted Draco in front of her to tell her what on earth was going on. She wanted Astoria to explain to her what this was all about. But neither of them was to be found after the bloody news was made.

Draco had gone off in pursuit of his mother and was never seen again that night. Astoria had promptly gone home, avoiding the crowds handing her well wishes. Evanna had surmised that Narcissa was behind it all. It was quite obviously a plot to ruin Evanna and break Draco and her up. The thought irritated Evanna more than she should have allowed. There was a good explanation for this incident. There had to be. She wanted to see Draco and drag an explanation from his annoyingly handsome face. Engaged? Evanna stared at her reflection in the water. To Astoria? She couldn't be betrayed. Astoria was her friend, her only friend these days. Astoria couldn't have stabbed her in the back. Draco couldn't have deceived her, could he? The thought brought a stabbing pain in her chest. She sighed. She wanted an explanation.

"I see you're hard at work," a voice behind her said.

Evanna turned around and saw Sebastian standing there with a smile on his patrician face. He waved gallantly at her. Evanna dropped the rag into the bucket and got up off the ground.

"Sebastian, I was just… I mean, I-"

Sebastian chuckled. "Relax, Evanna," he said. "It makes no difference to me if you clean this place or not."

"I was just… thinking," Evanna said, rubbing her arm.

"About what?" Sebastian asked. Evanna looked up at him, skeptical. "You can tell me. We're friends, aren't we?"

Evanna watched his kind face smile down at her. She sighed again. "I was just… I wanted an explanation for what happened last night," she said. "The… engagement between…"

"Draco and Astoria, yes," Sebastian said, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's all anybody is talking about."

"Do you know anything about it, Sebastian?"

Sebastian shook his head. "Draco didn't say anything about it," he said.

Evanna looked away. "I just want to know what's going on," she said. "I want an explanation. I don't know if I should be upset or if it's just a misunderstanding."

Sebastian watched the sadness come over her. He frowned. Sebastian wondered himself what on earth was going on between Draco and Astoria. Sebastian guessed that Draco didn't know anything about the engagement beforehand. He would have complained endlessly about it, making Sebastian's ears bleed endlessly. It pained Sebastian to see Evanna so upset and he was powerless to comfort her mind. Her faraway look saddened him. Sebastian spotted a pile of pebbles lying a few feet away. He looked at Evanna and looked back at the pebbles, thinking. Sebastian pulled out his wand and waved it over at the pebbles. The pebbles floated up into the air and whirled into colorful butterflies. Sebastian guided the butterflies over to Evanna with a smile.

Evanna looked around at the butterflies. The butterflies flew lightly around her face, kissing her lightly on the cheek. Evanna, tickled, starts giggling. Sebastian smiled wider.

"Sebastian," Evanna giggled.

"Alright, alright," he said, guiding the butterflies away. With another flick of his wand, the butterflies turned back into pebbles. "I just wanted to get a smile out of you. Look, Evanna, I'm sure whatever happened has a perfectly logical explanation. Don't worry. I'm sure Draco will give you an explanation soon enough."

Evanna grinned. "Thank you, Sebastian," she said. "I feel a little better."

Evanna walked into Sebastian's arms into a hug. He folded his arms around her waist, a comfortable smile on his face.

"Well, what do we have here?"

Sebastian and Evanna broke apart and turned around. They found Draco with his hands in his pockets, giving them a nasty glare.

"Draco," Evanna said walking away from Sebastian. "What's going on here? Are you and Astoria really engaged? What happened to you last night?"

Draco stared coldly at Evanna's face for a little bit. He looked over at Sebastian who was watching him with a curious and suspicious face. Draco looked back at Evanna's face. He rolled his eyes at her and sighed.

"Yeah, Astoria and I are engaged," he said nonchalantly. "You heard the announcement last night. It was straightforward enough. You really can't be that thick, can you?"

Evanna stared at him, feeling as if she was falling. "You-"

Draco scowled. "By the way you're flirting with Sebastian here, I expect that you're not too distraught," Draco said with a sneer.

"Draco, that's not true and you know it," Sebastian said defensively.

"How idiotic do you think I am?" Draco rolled his eyes. "Everyone in Britain and France knows that you fancy the pants off of Evanna. It's quite pathetic actually since she has absolutely no interest in you."

"Draco, stop this," Sebastian said.

"Don't worry, you can have her," Draco said, turning indifferently away. "Since I'm getting engaged, you can have the rubbish I've tossed aside. I won't need it. I really shouldn't be associating myself with the working class anyway. You understand."

"Draco, what are you saying?" Evanna said, a cold chill passing over her, a lump of dread permeating in her stomach.

"Let's face it, Evanna," Draco sighed. "This relationship is utterly pointless. And who am I kidding, I'm absolutely wasting my time with a lowly, sweaty working girl. Astoria has more money and class than you currently or ever will have. I must be insane to have even thought about dating you." He laughed cruelly.

"Draco…" Evanna whispered.

Draco sighed and began to walk away. "I'm going to save myself further humiliation. I can't have my reputation smeared by some no account cleaning girl," Draco scoffed. "Evanna, from now on, I don't know you. If you know what's good for you, you will not address me now or ever."

Draco walked away casually, his hands in his pockets. He turned the corner without looking back. Sebastian looked over Evanna. Tears had rolled down her face and she was shaking. Evanna felt as if she had been punched in the face and in the stomach. What happened? What had she done wrong? Her throat tightened as more tears rolled down her face. What is this she's feeling? Was she actually distraught? Does that mean that she really did grow fond of Draco? She felt a pain in her chest as the thought of Draco pretending not to know her hit her. The pain grew sharper as the thought of Draco marrying her best friend. Evanna put her hand over her mouth as the tears came harder.

Sebastian looked up from Evanna's crying face towards the pile of pebbles lying a few feet away. They weren't going to help him now. What on earth was Draco thinking? Sebastian knew very well that Draco was nuts for Evanna. He would never intentionally hurt her like that. He would never make her cry without a reason. Seeing Evanna's tears made Sebastian feel a stabbing pain in his chest. He looked back over at Evanna. She was vainly trying to wipe away her tears, trying to stop herself from crying. With a sigh, Sebastian pulled Evanna into an embrace. He didn't know what was going on, but he swore to himself he would find out.

* * *

Draco watched Sebastian pull Evanna into his arms. Draco curled his hands into fists and scowled as she saw Evanna hold onto him. He hated himself for saying the things he said. He hated that his mother drove him to this decision. He hated that Sebastian was holding onto Evanna and making her feel better while he stood there in the shadows, unable to do nothing about it.

But he had to do it. He had to do it to protect Evanna. His mother could ruin her life. He could not let that happen. If it meant protecting her, he felt that he didn't have a choice.

"That was quite entertaining, Draco."

Draco turned around and found Narcissa standing behind him, an amused smile on her face.

"I see you've taken my advice finally," Narcissa smirked.

"I didn't do it because of you, Mother," Draco said. "I did it so you would not hurt Evanna."

Narcissa scoffed and said, "Look closely, Draco dear, you've done all by yourself." She sneered at her son as he scowled. "Now you'd better run along. You were supposed to meet dear Astoria, remember? You two need to work out your guest list."

Narcissa turned and walked away, a satisfied leer on her face. Draco stood there, his fists clenched, resisting the urge to yell loudly in frustration. He looked back over to where Sebastian was holding Evanna. A fresh pang of jealousy ate away at Draco. He wanted nothing more than to walk over and push Sebastian away from Evanna. But there was nothing he can do. For Evanna's safety, he had to walk away. Draco gritted his teeth as he walked away. If he had to leave Evanna in anybody's hands, he was glad that it was in Sebastian's.

* * *

"Evie, maybe you shouldn't do our afternoon jobs today," Grayson said, looking over his shoulder at his sister.

Evanna didn't answer. Grayson stopped walking and stared at her. Evanna bumped into him and she instantly looked up.

"I'm sorry," Evanna said, rubbing her forehead. "Did you say something?"

Grayson stared at her with his brows furrowed. He knew why his sister was upset. He might be silly person but he wasn't stupid. She was obviously upset about the whole Malfoy thing. Grayson didn't know what to do. He'd never had a sister before now and as such, he never had to deal with girl dilemmas that came with them. He scratched his head awkwardly.

"Uh… Evie, maybe you should stay home this afternoon," he said.

"No, I can't do that," Evanna said lethargically. "I have to help you."

"Oh, come now, Evie," Sebastian sighed. "You're not feeling well. You should rest."

"I'll be fine, I-"

"Evanna!"

Evanna turned and found Astoria walking up to her. She watched Astoria stop in front of her, looking cautious and slightly uncomfortable. Evanna looked at her awkwardly for a second and then turned to Sebastian.

"Sebastian, can you give us a moment?" Evanna asked.

Grayson looked from Evanna to Astoria and back. "Let me know if you need anything," Grayson said and walked away.

The girls watched Sebastian walk away. They then looked at each other awkwardly. They looked at their feet, unable to look at each other.

"Are you angry?" Astoria asked, uncomfortably.

Evanna looked up at her. She saw her nervous face and she had no power to raise her voice at her. Astoria was her only friend nowadays. Astoria had never hurt her before.

"What happened, Astoria?" Evanna asked. "What is this all about?"

"My parents set it up," Astoria answered. "I had nothing to do about it but I can't do anything about it. Please don't be angry."

Evanna sighed. "I can't be angry at you, Astoria," she said. "Besides, Draco and I are… are over."

Astoria stared. For a long while, she didn't say anything. The awkward silence continued. "Evanna, are we still friends?"

Evanna looked up at Astoria. She saw nervousness in Astoria's eyes and had no power to be angry at her. Besides, it looked like it wasn't Astoria's fault. How can Evanna be mad at her? Evanna thought of all the memories she had with Astoria. She was there before Draco became her boyfriend. Was it right to pick a fight with her over Draco?

"Evanna?"

"Of course we're still friends," she answered.

Evanna extended a hug out to her. Evanna's chest ached as she thought of Draco but Astoria was her friend. Was she supposed to choose? What is she to do?


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Evanna walked around the rows and rows of dresses, not touching any of it. She really wasn't in the mood for shopping. She watched Astoria flit around the store, picking up this dress and that dress, holding some against herself. After their awkward encounter at Astrum, Astoria insisted that they go shopping together to ease the tension. Grayson thought it was a wicked idea and practically shoved Evanna at Astoria. Astoria proceeded to unceremoniously chatter on as if nothing at all had happened.

Evanna attempted to have fun with Astoria but she couldn't look at her without seeing her and Draco walk down the isle together in wedded bliss. Evanna sighed for the thousandth time that day.

"What do you think of this one?" Astoria asked, bounding over with a red tutu with an unnecessarily ridiculous amount of gold sequin and glitter on it.

"It's alright, I suppose," Evanna said, grimacing at the dress.

"Do you think Draco will like it?" Astoria blabbed. "My parents and I are supposed to be having dinner with him and his parents tomorrow night and I want to wear something he'll think is pretty."

Evanna stared at the dress for a long while, watching the sequins and the glitter sparkle. "Yes, Astoria," Evanna answered. "I think Draco will like it."

"Good," Astoria said and sighed. "Do you think he'll like me? I mean, he's never looked twice at me before but do you think there's a possibility that he'll like me?"

Evannna watched her earnest face. Evanna should have been angry. She should have been vindictive. But how can she act that way to Astoria? Astoria had always been overshadowed by Daphne's crass behavior. She was waved off as the "Other Greengrass Girl." Draco was her one chance at a good and comfortable life. The Malfoy family could give her everything she needed and everything Evanna didn't want. Why should Evanna stand in the way? Why should she be selfish? Evanna saw Draco's face in her mind and her heart twisted. Her best friend was to marry her boyfriend. She should be angry. She should be vindictive. But she wasn't. She felt hollow and numb but she couldn't find it in her to ruin anything. It looks as if Narcissa will get her way after all.

"Evanna?" Astoria repeated, looking interestedly at her.

"I think he'll absolutely adore you," Evanna smiled. "Don't let him bully you into leaving. Alright?"

Astoria smiled and hugged the dress close to her. Her right cheek was instantly littered with glitter. Evanna had to smile at the ridiculousness of it. "Thanks," Astoria giggled. "I'm going to pay for this."

Evanna nodded, knowing she'd have to let go of Draco. She hoped she wouldn't have to pay too dearly for her decision.

* * *

Evanna dragged her feet through the kitchen and flopped herself down on a chair in the dining room. Grayson watched her with keen interest as he looked at her over his morning coffee. He watched Evanna drag a bagel into her mouth and watched her chew with all the energy of a sloth. Grayson raised an eyebrow.

"Well, aren't you a bright ray of sunshine?" Grayson said sarcastically.

"I feel like I'm chewing on glass," Evanna mumbled.

"Are you insulting my cooking?" Grayson barked.

"You cooked this bagel?" Evanna asked, scrutinizing the bagel further.

"No, but I heated it up for you," Grayson said with a sip of his coffee. "The least you can do is say thank you."

"Eurgh…."

"Maybe you should stay home like I keep telling you, you mental person," Grayson lectured. "You never listen to me. What's the use of me being an older brother if you don't listen to me?"

"Your voice is making my head hurt, Grayson," Evanna complained.

"You deserve it, you stubborn-"

Grayson stopped as the two of them heard a loud knock on the front door. Grayson put his coffee on the table and got up to answer the door.

"Stay here," he said over his shoulder to Evanna. "I'm not finished scolding you."

"Perfect," Evanna said lethargically.

Grayson walked over to the door and pulled it open. He came face to face with none other than Sebastian Cardonell. Grayson stared at him, confused and not saying anything. Sebastian stared back, feeling incredibly uncomfortable being stared at.

"Is this a bad time?" Sebastian asked, uncomfortably shifting his feet under Grayson's gaze.

"Who is it, Grayson?" Evanna asked walking up to them. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of Sebastian. "Sebastian, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was hoping to be let into your home but your brother is just gawking at me," Sebastian said, looking back over at Grayson who is still gaping at him.

Evanna elbowed Grayson out of the way. "You git!" Evanna sniped at him. "Don't stare like that! Come in, Sebastian."

Sebastian walked through the doorway with a smile. "Thank you," he said.

"Sure," Evanna giggled, elbowing Grayson sharply again. "Grayson!"

"Oh, hi!" Grayson said, looking as if he'd just woken up from a nap. Evanna rolled her eyes at him. "Have you eaten yet? Evie and I were just having our breakfast."

"I already ate," Sebastian said, "but thank you. That's awfully nice of you."

"Would you like to sit?" Evanna said, gesturing over to the sofas.

"Sure," Sebastian said, obediently following Evanna and sitting down.

"So Sebastian, what are you doing here?" Evanna asked. "Not that we don't want you here though."

"Well, I observed you were very tired yesterday and I thought I'd offer my services to the both of you today," Sebastian said charmingly.

"Services?" Grayson asked.

"I'd like to help the both of you clean manors today," Sebastian explained.

Grayson and Evanna exchanged looks.

"No, you don't have to do that, Sebastian," Evanna said instantly. "We can't possibly ask you to do something like that."

"But I want to," Sebastian insisted. "I shall be insulted if you refuse my offer."

"But why would you want to do help us clean?" Evanna asked.

"First of all, I'm bored," Sebastian laughed, "and second of all, I'm tired of Draco complaining and I must find something else to busy myself with."

"I'm sure there's something else that's worth your time that you could do," Evanna answered.

"Yes, I find helping the both of you completely worth my time," Sebastian smiled. "Please don't refuse me."

"Sebastian, you-"

"Alright then," Grayson said, standing up from the sofa. "Welcome to our team then, Sebastian."

"What?" Evanna exclaimed. "You're letting him?"

"Of course," Grayson answered.

"Why?"

"Because he asked so nicely," Grayson reasoned, "and this is an excellent learning experience. I wouldn't do anything to keep anyone from learning. That would just be evil. So get yourselves ready. We've got to go clean."

* * *

Sebastian mopped up clumsily, sweat furrowing on his forehead. Why is mopping such a difficult task? It's only mop and it's only a floor. Mopping up the dirt and the grime should have been child's play. However, the first time Sebastian wielded the mop, he made more of a mess than cleaned up a mess. It took him quite a few tries but in the end he finally succeeded in besting the mop.

He looked over at Evanna who was busily cleaning the windows. She had to do this everyday, Sebastian thought to himself. How utterly tiring! Sebastian went back to busily mopping the floors. The more he did, the less Evanna would have to do. He thought about the impending marriage between Draco and Astoria. A small part of him couldn't help but rejoice. Perhaps now he could get a chance with Evanna. However, though a small part of him rejoiced, a larger part of him was pained because Evanna was hurting. Sebastian didn't know what to do or think about the situation. Should he again risk heartache and attempt to break up Draco's engagement so Evanna could be happy or shall he follow his greed and try to keep Evanna all to himself?

He looked over at Evanna again. And what did she want? What did she think? Sebastian hadn't asked and Evanna hadn't offered to talk about it first.

"Alright, you two," Grayson said, suddenly appearing amongst them, "we're finished. Great work today."

Sebastian straightened up and brought the mop over to them. Evanna also walked closer. Grayson then took the mop from Sebastian and handed him a bag of Galleons.

"What's this?" Sebastian asked.

"That's you cut, of course," Grayson answered, pocketing the other bag of Galleons. "You worked for it. You should keep it."

"Oh, no, I can't," Sebastian said, holding out the bag of Galleons again.

"Look, Sebastian," Grayson said, giving him a look as Evanna smiled widely at her brother, "you earned that money so it should be yours. We'll be insulted if you give it to us."

"Really?" Sebastian asked, looking at the bag with wonder.

"Sure," Grayson said. "You earned it."

"Then you must allow me to take the both of you out to dinner," Sebastian said. "I insist."

"Dinner?" Grayson asked. "Well, I am hungry."

"It's settled then."

* * *

Grayson leaned back in his seat, rubbing his stomach comfortably. He had just polished off a chocolate cake and was completely content. Sebastian had taken them to an upscale wizarding restaurant. Grayson looked absolutely out of place amidst the splendor but Sebastian was all the more entertained by it. He relished the destruction of the boring monotony the rich usually enveloped themselves in. Evanna enjoyed her sundae, watching her brother critically.

"Well, that was scrumptious," Grayson said and burped loudly.

"Grayson!" Evanna exclaimed.

"My apologies," Grayson said. "Feels as though my dessert is having a duel with my appetizer inside my stomach."

"Honestly, Grayson," Evanna rolled her eyes, "do you have to talk that way here?"

"What are you trying to say, Evie?" Grayson asked, raising his eyebrow. "I'm not embarrassing you, am I? AM I?"

Other customers of the restaurant turned their head when Grayson raised his voice. Evanna tugged on his arm as Sebastian grinned widely in his seat. Evanna apologized over and over to the other patrons of the restaurant.

"Do you have to be such an idiot in public?" Evanna asked Grayson.

"You're far too tense, Evie," Grayson said, standing up from his seat. "You ought to loosen up."

"Where are you going now?" Evanna demanded.

"I'm going to the loo," Grayson said, walking off. "You two enjoy each others' presence. I'll be back."

Evanna sighed and turned to Sebastian. Sebastian had a completely amused grin on his face.

"I'm sorry about him," Evanna said.

"What are you apologizing for?" Sebastian asked. "Your brother is only being himself. I find him interesting, actually. He's quite the dinner guest."

"I think the other guests here are really annoyed by him," Evanna said, looking around at the other patrons who had been throwing them inquisitive looks.

"Don't pay any attention to them," Sebastian said. "They need some spice in their boring lives."

"I suppose," Evanna sighed.

Sebastian was quiet for a while and then looked over at Evanna. "I actually want to thank you, Evanna," Sebastian said.

"What for?"

"You and your brother helped me earn money for the first time today," Sebastian smiled. "I'd never earned money before. It feels good to earn the money instead of just being handed money. It's more fulfilling. Thank you."

Evanna smiled at him. "I'd never thought of it that way," Evanna confessed. "I suppose you're right."

"Perhaps I could come and help clean again at another time?" Sebastian asked.

Evanna grinned. "I'm sure Grayson and I would like that."

The two sat grinning at each other for a while.

"EVANNA! SEBASTIAN!"

Sebastian and Evanna looked up to see Astoria bounding toward them, wearing the ridiculously sequined red tutu dress.

"Hi, Astoria," Evanna greeted as Sebastian nodded in greeting.

"I thought it was you I saw," Astoria giggled. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to have dinner here as well?"

"I didn't know," Evanna said. "Sebastian brought us here."

"Sebastian, huh?" Astoria then looked from Sebastian to Evanna and back. Her eyes grew wide and she gasped joyously. "Oh, my goodness, why didn't you tell me you two are dating now?"

"What?" Evanna exclaimed.

"I think you have the-" Sebastian tried to explain.

"This is fantastic!" Astoria interrupted. "You two should go on a double date with Draco and me! You two are so sneaky, trying to keep your relationship a secret!"

"Astoria, you don't-"

"I'm going to tell Draco about our double date!" Astoria said, turning her back to bound away. "You two shouldn't be ashamed of your relationship, you know. You should shout your happiness from the rooftops."

"Wait!"

But it was too late. Astoria had run off bearing what she believed to be happy news. Sebastian and Evanna exchanged looks. They looked up to see Grayson plop down in his seat again.

"What did I miss?" Grayson asked.

Evanna sighed and put her face in her hands. What on earth was going on?


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"I'm sorry about Astoria," Evanna said, watching Grayson flit into their house, effectively leaving Sebastian and Evanna out on the porch together.

"It's alright," Sebastian smiled. "I'll set her straight tomorrow."

"No, I'll do it," Evanna sighed. "You shouldn't have to bear that burden."

"EVIE!" Grayson shouted from inside the house.

Sebastian and Evanna exchanged looks and ran inside the house. Evanna's eyes grew wide as she saw who was standing inside.

"Good evening," Aurelia spoke evenly, her eyes immediately flitting to Sebastian.

"What are you doing here, Aurelia?" Evanna asked crossly.

"Such rudeness," Aurelia said with a condescending chuckle. "How dare you speak as such to your mother?"

"You know I don't consider you my mother anymore," Evanna glared. "What are you doing here?"

"Enough with this running away from home nonsense, Evanna," Aurelia breathed. "It's time for you to return. Haven't you made enough of a travesty of yourself?"

"You're not welcome here, Aurelia," Evanna glared further. "I suggest you leave."

"Evanna Redway, I am your mother and I demand for you to leave with me and return to where you belong," Aurelia demanded.

"Not in your lifetime," Evanna said angrily.

Aurelia scoffed as she laid her eyes on Grayson. "And what? You choose to instead live with this oaf?" Aurelia laughed. "He can't possibly be giving you a good life, a comfortable life. I hear he's making you clean manors. Do you understand the derision I've had to suffer through? I will not be made a fool of anymore. Evanna, you are coming with me."

"Grayson has been more family to me that you ever will be," Evanna said grabbing Aurelia's arm. "This is our home and you are not welcome here. So leave."

Aurelia laughed in her face. She then looked at Sebastian who was watching the scene with discomfort. Aurelia eyed him from head to toe, instantly recognizing who she was. Aurelia broke free from Evanna's grasp and walked towards him.

"On the other hand," Aurelia chuckled, walking around Sebastian in a circle like a hungry lion, "perhaps you haven't done that badly for yourself, darling. I'd never thought you'd be dating Sebastian Cardonnell. I applaud your taste."

"Aurelia-" Evanna began.

"My daughter is very lucky to have you, young man," Aurelia continued to babble. "I'll very much appreciate it if you ignore all her pitfalls and drawbacks."

"Aurelia!"

"I'm very sure that you are quite the best and the only man who will ever have her now after all the ungrateful things she did," Aurelia said, smiling shiftily at Sebastian.

"While I am flattered that you approve of me, madam," Sebastian said evenly. "I do believe you've misunderstood the situation."

"Have I?"

"Yes and evidently, you are not welcome in this home and so in the interests of all those here, I believe it is best if you take your leave," Sebastian continued. "Otherwise, we would be forced to summon the authorities."

Aurelia's gaze darkened. She turned to Evanna. "So this is the company you've surrounded yourself with," she said angrily. "You really went out of your way to convince this people of my depravity, didn't you?"

"I didn't have to convince them, Aurelia," Evanna argued. "Now I think you'd better go."

"Once I leave, I won't be showing my face to you ever again," Aurelia warned.

"I welcome that promise," Evanna answered.

Aurelia glared one last time and disappeared into thin air.

* * *

Pansy Parkinson sat at a café in Diagon Alley, two cups of tea simmering in front of her. She stared down at her reflection in her own cup. It had been a long while since she was in Diagon Alley. She wouldn't pretend that social reform school was a pleasant place. It was a morbid place bent on social conformity and false pretenses. She damned the place and everyone in it. She hoped she would never see it again. She played nice, of course. She wanted to get out of that hell hole.

She pulled out a vial with thick white powder in it. Pansy looked at the powder for a long while. Should she do this? If anyone found out, she would surely land right back in social reform school. Or worse yet, Azkaban prison. Pansy gripped the vial tightly, a fiery glow coming alight in her eyes. Of course she should do it. There was a score to settle.

Pansy uncapped the vial and poured its contents into the tea cup opposite hers. She took up a spoon and stirred it. The concoction turned into an inky black color and then transformed back into its original amber tea color. Pansy quickly replaced the empty vial back inside her robes and stared at the cup opposite her own for a long while. Her father really shouldn't keep Dark Arts objects lying around their manor unattended. Nasty things could happen.

Pansy looked up to see Evanna Redway walking toward her, a suspicious expression written all over her annoyingly perfect face. Pansy gave her a smile. Pansy had written to her with a supposed olive branch. Miss Perfect was still guarded. She should be, Pansy thought. She has no idea what will happen to her.

"Good morning, Evanna," Pansy said. "I hope you don't mind. I've taken the liberty of ordering us some tea."

* * *

"Thank you for helping us do some spring cleaning, Sebastian," Evanna smiled.

Sebastian looked away from his feather duster. "It's my pleasure," he smiled. "I've recently developed a yen for cleaning thanks to you."

Evanna giggled. "Just don't expect Grayson to pay you," she said.

"I wasn't expecting anything of the kind," Sebastian replied. He watched her smile and then sigh. He cocked his head to one side. "Did something happen?"

"I… I met Pansy Parkinson for tea this morning," Evanna said, a thoughtful expression coming over her face.

"Pansy?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "She's back from social reform school?"

"Apparently," Evanna sighed again. "She bought me tea and told me how sorry she was about everything she's done."

"That's odd."

"That's exactly what I thought," Evanna said. "But she was completely pleasant and friendly the entire time."

"Well," Sebastian mused, "if it's a change for the better, shouldn't we welcome it?"

"I suppose," Evanna said, putting her hand on her forehead and rubbing vigorously.

"Are you alright?" Sebastian asked.

"I've just got a bit of a headache," Evanna said, attempting to smile.

Sebastian frowned at her. "Evanna, you've gone excessively pale," he observed. "Are you sure you're alright?'

"I'm fine," Evanna said, trying to laugh it off, tossing aside her broom and attempting to walk across the room.

Evanna suddenly wobbled and hurtled to the ground. Sebastian dropped his feather duster and caught her in his arms. "You're definitely not alright," Sebastian said worriedly. "GRAYSON!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sebastian," Evanna said breathily. "I'm fine. It's quite hot in here."

Sebastian stared at her. She was pale, her face had started to get a sort of waxy quality, and she was sweating prodigiously. Grayson walked into the room, took one look at Evanna in Sebastian's arms and dropped all the linens he was folding. He rushed immediately to her.

"What in the world happened?" he demanded.

"I don't know," Sebastian said. "We were just cleaning and then she just suddenly got sick."

"I told you you've worked yourself too hard, you dolt," Grayson said.

"I… I'm o… okay…" Evanna insisted.

"You aren't, you nitwit. Come on, you're going to bed," Grayson grabbed Evanna by the arm and he gasped. "You're cold as ice. What's gotten into you?"

"I d-don't k…know wh…what you're t-talking about…" Evanna said as Grayson picked her up.

"Don't be stupid," Grayson said. "You're obviously sick."

Sebastian watched Grayson carry Evanna off into her room. "I'm going to get a doctor," Sebastian said firmly.

"I d…don't need a… a… doc… tor," Evanna mumbled.

"Don't be an arse, Evie," Grayson told her. "Thank you, Sebastian and please hurry."

* * *

"I… can't… can't b-breathe," Evanna gasped, lying in her bed, white as a sheet as the doctor examined her.

Grayson and Sebastian stood off to one corner, ghostly expressions on their faces. The doctor stood up from the side off Evanna's bed, a grim expression on his face. Sebastian's heart instantly dropped. The doctor walked over to them, a dismal appearance apparent from his features.

"What is it?" Grayson asked intently. "What's happened to my sister?"

"I don't know how to tell you this," the doctor began, "but your sister has been poisoned. She is currently experiencing a systemic vascular collapse. Blood is not circulating effectively through out her body causing her drop in body temperature and blood pressure. Also because of the poison, her heart is shutting down and her lungs are constricting causing her to suffocate. I'm sorry, but your sister is dying."

Grayson looked as if he had been hit by a building. Sebastian felt color drain from his face. He looked back over at Evanna on the bed. She looked as if she was gasping for air that wasn't going to come. Sebastian felt as if he had been punched.

"D-dying?" Grayson stammered.

"If I could know what poison she consumed, there's a possibility of saving her," the doctor said. "Do either of you know what kind of poison it was?"

Grayson and Sebastian were quiet. They were ashen and both looked like they were suffocating as well. The doctor looked morose. He hung his head.

"I'm sorry," the doctor repeated. "But presently, there's nothing I can do. But please, do call me if you find out what kind of poison she ingested."

Grayson felt a tear fall down his cheek. "Thank you, doctor," Grayson said tearfully. "I'll walk you to the door."

"Thank you."

Sebastian watched Grayson and the doctor disappear from the room. He looked back over at Evanna. He felt dread pool thick in his stomach. He felt sick. He felt tears well up in the back of his eyes. She couldn't be dying, he thought to himself. She was just fine that morning, the day before. Evanna Redway couldn't possibly be dying. Sebastian felt tears fall down his face. She can't be leaving him. There were so many things he wanted to say. There were so many things he wanted to show her. Sebastian felt his hands curl into fists. She can't be dying. She just can't be.

"W-what are you… doing… all t-the w-way… over…t-there?" Evanna asked.

Sebastian willed his legs to move over to her, feeling his heart twist with every step. He would never see her again. He would never see her smile ever again. A slew of fresh tears were called forth by such a thought. He looked down at her. She was waxy and cold. Her lips had lost their color and her eyes were sunken. She was sweating and her breathing was slow. She didn't have long.

"Y-you… look… t-terrible," Evanna smiled.

Sebastian cried harder. "You shouldn't talk," he advised her through his tears.

"I'm… d-dying, aren't I?"

Sebastian couldn't take it anymore. He sank to his knees beside her bed and cried. He felt as if his chest had been ripped out and smashed with a hammer. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. Evanna was finally moving on. She was finally starting to be happy.

"I'm sorry," Sebastian cried. "I should have protected you better. I should have done something. I should have."

"T-this… isn't… y-your f-fault…" Evanna breathed. "D-don't… s-say… that… Y-you're… a… g-good… friend…"

"Evanna," Sebastian sobbed, "I have to tell you something. There's something you've got to know."

"N-now w-would… be a g-good… t-time to s-say it…"

"Evanna, I… I… love… you," Sebastian confessed through his tears. "I always have. I always…"

"I… know…" Evanna breathed, making Sebastian look up at her with surprise. "B-but still, y-you should… h-have t-told… me, y-you martyr."

"I do favor my martyrdom," Sebastian answered, enjoying the way Evanna smiled at the comment. "I'm so sorry, Evanna. I wish I could do something. I wish I could fix this."

"C-can… I… ask y-you f-for… a f-favor?" she asked.

"Anything," Sebastian said, wiping away his tears."

"I… want t-to see h-him… again," Evanna whispered. "One… last… time…"


End file.
